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Arian Foster may be back on the practice field as soon as Sunday.

The 2012 NFL touchdown king suffered a calf injury during OTA’s, and has been rehabbing. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak spoke with the media after Thursday afternoon’s practice inside the Houston Methodist Training Center, and was optimistic about a return for the Pro Bowl running back.

“We’re hoping Arian’s a participant in practice on Sunday,” Kubiak said. “We’ll see how he does.”

Last Thursday, Foster, safety Ed Reed and wide receiver DeVier Posey were put on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Through the first week of camp, those three have worked out on side fields under the supervision of the team’s medical training staff. Kubiak said Thursday that there was no new update on Reed.

“Obviously Ed’s still got some time away,” Kubiak said. “But he’s doing really good.”

When Foster was asked last Saturday about when he expected to return to the field, he wouldn’t put a definitive timetable on it and described his level of pain.

“It’s just got some light soreness in there, it’s nothing,” Foster said. “I can do pretty much everything, so I’m just going to take it day-by-day.”

With Foster out, Ben Tate has received the starter’s reps at running back. Behind him, Deji Karim and the undrafted rookie trio of Ray Graham, Dennis Johnson and Cierre Wood have battled for the third running back spot.

The Texans will practice Friday morning, and then take the afternoon and all of Saturday off. They’ll practice twice a day from Sunday through Wednesday. With a game at Minnesota on Friday night, the Texans will go through a light workout Thursday morning.

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