WASHINGTON  —  Football fans planning to toss around a Nerf football before the Super Bowl should take note: Some of the balls are being recalled because they could cause injury.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (search) said Friday that Hasbro Inc. (search) of Pawtucket, R.I., is voluntarily recalling about 294,000 Nerf Big Play Footballs (search) because their hard plastic interior frame poses a safety hazard. The top on the ball flips open to reveal an erasable screen that can be used to plan football plays.

CPSC said there have been nine reports of facial injuries from the balls. Eight of those incidents required stitches or medical attention.

The footballs are red, silver and black. Each has the Nerf name on it, along with a large black "X" and the signature of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

The Nerf balls were sold for about $10 at Wal-Mart, Target and other stores nationwide starting in August.

Consumers can visit the company's Web site at www.nerf.com or call Hasbro at 866-637-3244 for more information on how to return the footballs.

Hasbro will provide prepaid-postage labels to return the balls, and offer customers a replacement Nerf product of equal value.