Lions' Nick Fairley Wearing Boot On Injured Foot

Not a good sign for the Detroit Lions, as they could now be without another one of their defensive tackles. Nick Fairley is wearing a boot on his injured foot, the same foot that was injured to start the season, according to Chris McCosky. Fairley was playing very well in relief of suspended defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, but left early in the second quarter for x-rays and was used sparingly throughout the remainder of the game. His first quarter saw three tackles and his first career sack, so that makes the injury especially worse.

The x-rays showed no broken bones on Sunday, but it's the same foot that caused him to miss significant time this season (as well as training camp). He also sat out a game in late October with a sore foot. The Lions aren't necessarily in a terrible situation without him, with guys like Corey Williams and Andre Fluellen behind him, but the boot can't be a good sign for the Lions' first round pick.

Lions Vs. Bears: Nick Fairley Active For Monday Night Football

Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley is going to make his debut on the big stage of ESPN's Monday Night Football. After being out since the start of August with a broken foot, Fairley fully practiced all last week and is set to make his debut on Monday night for the Lions. He is active for the game, and all indications are he will play.

The following players are not active for Monday's game between the Lions and Chicago Bears:

With Durant and Spievey out, Bobby Carpenter will step in as a starter at linebacker and John Wendling will start at safety. Durant was expected to play over the weekend, but a setback with his recovery from a concussion is going to keep him out of the lineup for at least one more game.

Week 5 NFL Injury Report: Nick Fairley Questionable For Monday Night

The injury report for Monday night's game between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears is out and it has good news for the home team. Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley fully practiced on Saturday and is listed as questionable for the game. He has practiced all week, and although no decision has been made yet, it certainly looks like he will make his debut on Monday night.

Here's a look at the full injury report:

Detroit Lions

WR Rashied Davis (Foot) - Out

WR Calvin Johnson (Ankle) - Probable

WR Maurice Stovall (Hand) - Probable

OT Jason Fox (Foot) - Out

DE Lawrence Jackson (Hamstring) - Questionable

DT Nick Fairley (Foot) - Questionable

LB DeAndre Levy (Knee) - Probable

LB Justin Durant (Concussion) - Probable

CB Aaron Berry (Groin) - Questionable

CB Eric Wright (Groin) - Probable

S Louis Delmas (Abdomen) - Probable

S Erik Coleman (Ankle) - Out

S Amari Spievey (Hamstring) - Questionable

Chicago Bears

WR Earl Bennett (Chest) - Out

TE Matt Spaeth (Calf) - Probable

OT Gabe Carimi (Knee) - Out

OG/C Chris Spencer (Hand) - Probable

DE Corey Wootton (Hand) - Probable

CB Charles Tillman (Hip) - Probable

S Chris Harris (Hamstring) - Probable

Nick Fairley Injury Update: Debut Coming On Monday Night Football?

So far this week, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley has practiced on a limited basis three days in a row. On Friday, he participated in team drills for the first time since suffering his foot injury, indicating that his debut as a Lion is nearing.

Earlier this week, ESPN Chicago reported that Fairley will in fact debut on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. According to the report, Fairley was telling his friends and family who are attending the game to look for him to play in certain situations.

Fairley denied the report and denied that his friends and family had been invited to the game. On Friday, Fairley said he wasn't aware if he will play or not, as no decision had been made. If he is told he will play, friends and family could be invited to the game, but no plans have been made, contrary to the report from ESPN Chicago.

Although the Lions haven't made a decision yet, it would not be surprising if Fairley makes his debut on Monday night. He has participated in practice throughout the week, and it seems like he could in fact get into the game in certain situations. Obviously the Lions could decide to wait another week to make sure he's ready, but going up against the Bears' offensive line would be a pretty good way for him to make his debut.

Nick Fairley Returns To Practice For Lions

The Detroit Lions' 2011 draft class has been ravaged with injuries. Mikel Leshoure and Johnny Culbreath are on injured reserve, and although he is much better now, Titus Young missed a good chunk of training camp because of a hamstring issue. First-round pick Nick Fairley has also dealt with an injury, as he broke his foot on Aug. 1.

Fairley went on to miss the rest of training camp, all four preseason games and the first two games of the regular season. It's not clear when he will make his game debut for the Lions, but his recovery has progressed enough for him to practice. Fairley took part in the individual drills at Friday morning's practice, and according to Tim Twentyman, the team was quite excited to see him on the field.

Nick Fairley is participating in drills, too. The guys seem pretty amped up to have him out there

Considering Alphonso Smith broke his foot before training camp and still hasn't played yet despite practicing in recent weeks, Fairley probably won't be back for another couple of weeks at the least. Even so, it's a good sign that he was able to return to practice, as that indicates he is closer to being 100 percent healthy.

Lions Training Camp: Calvin Johnson Returns To Practice, Nick Fairley's Progressing

A bit of good news on the injury front was that Calvin Johnson, who had missed a couple days of practice with a bruised shoulder, returned to practice on Tuesday.

There was also some progress with Lions’ first round draft pick Nick Fairley, who appears one step closer to returning to the ‘Silver Crush.’ He was watching practice from the sidelines on Tuesday in the comfort of a new walking boot, which replaced his recently removed cast. Fairley, who had surgery two weeks ago, is taking rehab day-by-day and hopes he can return as soon as possible.

Other notes on the Lions’ other injury problems: Lions cornerbacks Chris Houston and Eric Wright both missed practice again on Tuesday with groin injuries. The injuries are luckily deemed to be not that serious. Defensive tackle Corey Williams, who had to leave practice early on Monday because he rolled his ankle, did not practice on Tuesday, either.

Lions' Nick Fairley To Miss 'Significant Portion' Of Training Camp After Having Surgery

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley not only visited a specialist in North Carolina on Wednesday, but he actually had surgery while there. The surgery, which was reportedly done to fix a foot fracture, will force Fairley to miss most or all of training camp.

Below is the statement the Lions released about this news.

"The examination of Nick Fairley's foot today by Dr. Bob Anderson resulted in a diagnosis consistent with that of Lions’ team physicians that surgical correction was required. Accordingly, surgery was successfully performed this afternoon in Charlotte, N.C., by Dr. Anderson. Nick is expected to miss a significant portion of training camp."

Obviously it's never good news for a first-round pick to have surgery to repair an injured foot just days into training camp, but the hope is Fairley will be ready to go when the regular season rolls around. This injury may slow his growth as an NFL player down, but the key thing is for him to not miss any regular season games. Based on the Lions' statement, it doesn't sound like they are expecting him to be out for anything beyond training camp and the preseason, which is a much better timetable for recovery than some were anticipating.

Lions Training Camp: Nick Fairley Visits Specialist; Other Injury News

After appearing at practice on Tuesday with a walking boot, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley was absent on Wednesday. This is because he was in Charlotte, North Carolina, being looked at by Dr. Robert Anderson, an orthopedic surgeon. Jim Schwartz said this about Fairley's visit to the specialist.

"After he left the field on Monday, we did some additional tests," said Schwartz. "We had some concerns about his foot. He was being seen late during practice, so we haven’t heard (anything). As soon as we hear his opinion and course of action, we’ll let you guys know."

At this point I think it's safe to say Fairley's injury is more than a tweak. It's still not clear if it's something as bad as a stress fracture, but it certainly doesn't seem like a simple injury that he will get over in a few days.

In other injury news, the Lions were also missing the following players from Wednesday's practice: WR Titus Young, TE Richard Dickson, LT Jeff Backus, RT Gosder Cherilus, CB Jack Williams and CB Alphonso Smith. RB Maurice Morris was wearing a cast because he has a "little crack in his hand."

Lions Training Camp: Nick Fairley Wearing Walking Boot

When Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley hurt his foot on Monday, the thinking was that the injury was not serious. Fairley and Lions head coach Jim Schwartz thought the injury was nothing more than a tweak, and X-rays on Fairley's foot were negative.

After missing Tuesday's practice and being seen with a walking boot on his injured foot, it appears as though Fairley's injury could be more serious than originally thought. Schwartz said more tests will be done on Fairley's foot to determine what exactly is wrong, and he also said that he's not sure if this is a long-term or short-term injury.

Schwartz declined to put a timetable on Fairley's return on Monday, but he did say that the Lions were hoping to get the 2011 first-round pick back soon. That likely won't be happening if Fairley has a stress fracture, which is "possible," according to Chris McCosky. The Lions at this point have to be hoping Fairley severely tweaked his foot and there is no damage beyond that. A stress fracture would not be good news at all.

Other players that missed Tuesday's practice are Gosder Cherilus, Titus Young, Jack Williams, Alphonso Smith, Jeff Backus and Zack Follett, who received a day off. Maurice Morris left the practice session with a hand injury.

Detroit Lions Training Camp: Nick Fairley Injures Foot

The Detroit Lions held their third practice of training camp on Monday. During the session rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley injured his foot. The injury happened during a special teams drill, and there was some initial concern that he hurt his knee. It turns out he tweaked his foot instead, and X-rays turned up nothing serious.

Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said Fairley actually wanted to keep practicing after returning from being examined. He didn't participate in the final part of practice since he was sore, but Jim Schwartz didn't sound overly concerned about Fairley missing much time.

"He’s sore. We’ll probably do a few more tests and things like that, but the X-rays were negative, so hopefully, we’ll get him back soon."

Gosder Cherilus, Titus Young, Jack Williams, Alphonso Smith and Jeff Backus missed all of Monday's practice. Cherilus and Williams seemed to be getting some time off in order to not aggravate knee injuries, whereas Young was out again with leg stiffness. Smith and Backus are still on the active/non-football injury list.