Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
The collective sign you heard late Wednesday morning was Chicago Bears fans relief that starting right guard Kyle Long was cleared to return to practice after a viral infection sidelined him for the first five practices of training camp.
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Long came down with some sort of infection the weekend of July 19th that had the Pro Bowl guard on the sidelines instead of in the trenches. There was a long of speculation about the severity of the illness when Long was not suited up to start Wednesday’s practice, after a visit to the doctor on Monday and an off day on Tuesday. Some were trying to connect the dots between a back injury that had Long out at the end of OTA’s and minicamp. When Long said he was run down, people were thinking mono, which could have kept him off the field for several weeks.
Instead, late in the morning, it was announced that Long was cleared to return. He will take a few days doing conditioning before he fully gets into the mix:
Trestman: Bears hope Kyle Long will practice in pads for the first time on Saturday night at Soldier Field.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) July 30, 2014
Coincidentally, Saturday is Family Fest where the Bears will be practicing at Soldier Field.
Long’s return comes just in time, as linemate Eben Britton suffered a hamstring injury and is listed as day to day.
Check back for more details on Day 5 of Chicago Bears practice.