Green Bay Packers running back Cedric Benson is progressing from the Lisfranc foot sprain that forced him to be placed on injured reserve.
According to Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com, Benson has been able to begin running on a treadmill that allows players to run without bearing their full body weight. Benson said he’s running at about 65-percent of his body weight right now.
“Cedric had the opportunity to have some testing done [recently] and everything’s positive. His rehab has picked up,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. ‘We’ll see where we are next week. We don’t have a startup date exactly when he’s going to be ready. [But] we had some good news in the past seven days.”
Benson wouldn’t put a timeline on his return, only that he expects to play again this season.
“I’m very confident about saying I’ll be back before the season’s over,” Benson said.
Benson was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return after suffering the injury in a game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. He is eligible to return to practice next week, if healthy enough to do so, and can be activated for the Packers’ Week 14 match up against the Detroit Lions.
James Starks and Alex Green have picked up the workload in the backfield in Benson’s absence. Benson has rushed for 248 yards on 71 carries with one touchdown in five games this season. He also has 14 catches for 97 yards.