Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews could be cleared Wednesday to return to Philadelphia after spending the past three-plus weeks in California recovering from surgery to correct a herniated disc in his back.
Andrews was expected to return shortly after the Oct. 21st operation, but head coach Andy Reid explained the reasons for the delay.
"He had a little bit of bleeding back there, I guess, is what they described it as," Reid said. "It wasn't anything significant that was a problem. They just wanted to make sure that they could get everything settled down." Andy Reid PC: November 12
At the time of the surgery, Reid said that he expected Andrews to be out for at least six weeks. He has not played since the first half of the Week 2 matchup at Dallas. Despite the delay in Andrews' return from California, the Eagles are still hopeful that he can play again this season.
"We'll just see," Reid said. "Right now we're OK without that spot with him doing what he's doing right now, and we'll just see what time does here for him."
Max Jean-Gilles has started for Andrews and will continue to do so this Sunday at Cincinnati.
Andrews was the only Eagle ruled out on Wednesday's injury report. Cincinnati will be without starting quarterback Carson Palmer, who is sidelined with an elbow injury. Ryan Fitzpatrick will start for the sixth time this season.
Two other Eagles including their own starting quarterback missed Wednesday's practice. Donovan McNabb did not practice because of personal reasons, according to Reid. There was a chance that McNabb would be back at the NovaCare Complex in time for practice, but he wasn't. Reid said that he didn't expect the absence to last the entire week. Long snapper Jon Dorenbos missed practice with an AC sprain, but Reid said he should be fine for Sunday.
Five Cincinnati players missed Wednesday's practice including starting strong safety Chinedum Ndukwe with a foot injury. Ndukwe has started every game this season expect for the opener. The other players not at practice were wide receivers Andre Caldwell (foot) and Jerome Simpson (ankle), linebacker Eric Henderson (neck) and defensive tackle Pat Sims (knee).
A number of Eagles were also listed on the injury report, but all had full participation: safety Sean Considine (rib), safety Brian Dawkins (elbow), cornerback Joselio Hanson (hamstring), wide receiver DeSean Jackson (groin), defensive tackle Trevor Laws (shoulder) and running back Brian Westbrook (knee).
Two other Bengals were limited in practice and both are starters on defense - linebacker Rashad Jeanty (foot) and defensive end Antwan Odom (shoulder).
