Chicago Bears injury update: Matt Forte expected back versus Packers; Alshon Jeffery on the fence

The Chicago Bears had one 'real' practice this week in preparation for their Thursday night game versus the Green Bay Packers, and during that time Matt Forte was working with the starters.

Forte on Tuesday:

"I was running full speed because I wanted to get the feeling and timing of making cuts and doing all that stuff. I did that before the pre-game on Sunday as well and I felt good. I'm good enough to go [on Thursday]"

Alshon Jeffery said Tuesday that he wants to play, and if he's feeling good enough on Thursday then he'll be out there.  He was officially listed as limited in practice on Tuesday.

Two starters that did not practice were safety Antrel Rolle and wide receiver Eddie Royal.  Each of them are dealing with knee injuries, and neither at this point are expected to play on Thursday.  The Bears will release their final injury/ status report this afternoon.

Before Forte went down in Week 8 with a sprained MCL, he was averaging 109.5 total yards per game for the Bears, with three total touchdowns. Statistically, he was having a Pro Bowl year, and would have been in the runnning for All-Pro discussions.  Should he close out the season as strongly as he played in the second half, there could still be that chance.

Rookie running back Jeremy Langford has done a good job in place of Forte over the last three games, and will still get plenty of snaps to spell Forte during each game.  Third string Ka'Deem Carey did not practice this week as he is still recovering from his concussion from last Sunday.