Khalil Herbert injury update: Latest on Bears RB for Week 11 Fantasy Football

Khalil Herbert was expected to return from an ankle injury during Week 10's Thursday Night Football, when the Chicago Bears faced the Carolina Panthers in a game between two teams with slim playoff aspirations. However, he was still kept out of the game even though he returned from the injured reserve.

The running back is really close to returning, and even though there's not much left for the Chicago Bears to play for this season, they could use him to better analyze what Justin Fields could do with a full array of weapons around him.

Khalil Herbert injury update

The running back had been listed on the injury report through all days of the week, but he has been a full participant during all practices - one must remember that, for Thursday Night Football games, there are only walkthroughs, and attendances on practices are just estimations.

It was a big surprise to see Herbert listed as inactive for the game since he returned from the injured reserve the week before. The Bears could have him placed out of the roster for another week after activating his 21-day window for practices, so it was nothing more than a game-time decision.

What happened to Khalil Herbert?

Herbert hurt his ankle during the Week 5 win over the Washington Commanders, a game where the Chicago Bears got their first win of the season. During his absence, the backfield turned into a combination of D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson.

High ankle sprains are always a difficult injury to manage, since the recovery period can be different for all players. Running backs usually suffer more from this kind of injury due to the position's nature; it's probable that, once he's back on the field, it should take a while for Herbert to get back to his best.

When will Khalil Herbert return?

Getting him back from the injured reserve shows that he's close to returning. Once again, it should be noted that it was already a surprise to see him inactive for the Week 10 game against the Carolina Panthers, so it's fair to expect him to be back against the Detroit Lions this weekend.

The Bears' playoff hopes are slim, but since the NFC wild card isn't the hardest race in the world, they might just need this upset to start a late push toward meaningful football in January. At the end of the day, there's no real tanking in the NFL, and Khalil Herbert is a nice player to have in these moments.