Eagles' Sproles hopeful of returning from knee injury Sunday

DARREN SPROLES didn't like what he was hearing from the Eagles' medical staff as he sat on the Lincoln Financial Field turf late in the third quarter of the Birds' 27-0 victory over the Giants week before last.

Sproles, whose 15-yard touchdown scamper on the Eagles' previous series had set the final score, was down and hurting. At the end of a 4-yard run, he'd been bent backward by Giants defensive tackle Markus Kuhn. While quarterback Nick Foles confronted Kuhn, then an official about Kuhn's actions, Sproles feared the worst.

"I thought it was bad . . . that's why I was kind of mad about it," Sproles said yesterday, after his surprise return to practice, as the Eagles returned from their bye week. "My foot just kinda got caught a little bit, when I got rolled back. It was clean, I guess . . . When I was on the field, the way my knee was moving [the joint felt loose], they thought it was bad. But it wasn't."

Asked whether he thought he'd torn his left ACL, Sproles indicated he had, but "I don't like saying that word."

Sproles said he realized afterward in the locker room that he could walk pretty normally. He started to feel better about his chances of avoiding a serious setback, but he still wasn't sure, until an MRI the next morning showed minimal damage.

After getting treatment during the bye week, Sproles was able to strap on a brace and participate in yesterday's light workout.

"I did some stuff, whatever. Kind of helped me back a little bit. When I was out there, I felt good," he said afterward.

Does he think he can play in Arizona Sunday?

"The way I'm feeling, yeah," Sproles said. "But it's up to the coach." Sproles also said he wants to get in a full, real practice today and see how his knee responds. He said he has never worn a brace before.

Sproles, 31, spent the 2006 season on injured reserve with an ankle problem. Since then, he has appeared in 113 of a possible 118 games, with the Chargers, Saints and Eagles.

"When you play this game, your goal is to play - whatever it takes for you to play," Sproles said. "That's what I'm all about."

Did he feel as if he dodged a bullet?

"Yes, I did," he said.

Foles acknowledged yesterday he was quite concerned that the team's offensive catalyst had suffered a serious injury, needlessly, as Kuhn continued to push Sproles backward well after the whistle. An NBC microphone on Foles recorded his fervent objections: "What the hell? Get off him! You can't bend the guy backwards!"

"I thought the guy had Darren in a bad situation. He kept playing, past the whistle," Foles said yesterday. "My teammates protect me. I'm going to do my best to protect them . . . You don't want to see any one of your teammates get bent back, when the whistle's already been blown. I was just trying to make sure [the official] saw that."

Sproles was the headline, as several injured Eagles took the field yesterday. Center Jason Kelce made it clear he was still "very limited," a month after groin surgery. Running back Chris Polk, who reinjured his hamstring Oct. 5 against the Rams, also indicated he was at less than full speed. Linebacker Mychal Kendricks practiced for the first time since suffering a strained calf Sept. 15 at Indianapolis, and seems poised to play at Arizona, but Kendricks did not make himself available for comment. Left guard Evan Mathis (knee) is scheduled to return to practice today, under the terms of his IR designation. He isn't eligible to play until Nov. 10, against the Panthers.

Mathis said on Comcast SportsNet on Monday that Kelce was ahead of schedule and might return Nov. 2 at Houston. Kelce wasn't pushing that timetable yesterday.

"I really wish he wouldn't have said that, 'cause now it pushes me a little bit harder," Kelce said. "This is the first day I've even been out at practice. Obviously, I wasn't a full participant. I was just kind of out there moving around. I'm still hesitant to put a date on it, even if Mathis isn't."

Kelce said he has been able to do cardio work during his recovery and probably will need only a week or so of full practice before he plays - but that won't be this week, after he "just kind of did some movements. Getting back to moving like an offensive lineman."

Kelce said getting back on the practice field this week or next week has been the timetable since he underwent surgery.

"I'm definitely not a hundred percent. There's still some tightness in the groin area," he said. "That's kind of to be expected. That's what we're working to get over, over the next week or 2."

Kelce said it's important to avoid a 2- to 3-week "setback in the recovery process" that could happen if he returns to action too soon.

"It inflames the area and swells it up too much," he said.

Polk said this hamstring injury wasn't as severe as the original, suffered early in training camp, which kept him out until Week 2 of the regular season.

"It's definitely a must-play game," Polk said of Sunday's matchup between two 5-1 NFC opponents. "We'll just see how it goes. It felt good today. Just continuing, keep trying to work on it. We'll see Sunday."

The Eagles have been patient with Polk's hamstring woes - to the point of using rookie tight end Trey Burton as a mopup-time running back late in the Giants game, when they were without Sproles and Polk - maybe because Polk's 102-yard kickoff return against Washington on Sept. 21 was his fourth touchdown in 17 career touches.

If, later in the week, it were to look as if neither Sproles nor Polk would be able to play against the Cards, the Eagles probably would have to cut someone and bring Matthew Tucker up from the practice squad.

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