WR Allen Lazard, LB Christian Kirksey expected back at practice this week for the Packers

Green Bay could be close to getting back a pair of important pieces.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday that wide receiver Allen Lazard and inside linebacker Christian Kirksey will return to practice this week, thus starting the 21-day clock for activation off of injured reserve.

Lazard has been out since Week 3 after undergoing core muscle surgery, while Kirksey has also been out since then with a pectoral injury.

“(Lazard) is going to start practicing this week, and hopefully we get him back sooner than later,” LaFleur said. “Kirko is coming along nicely. Anticipate him back at practice this week, and we’ll see how long before he can go.”

Green Bay’s injury report is still long. They were missing four starters in the win at Houston, including running back Aaron Jones. He was a late-week scratch after coming up with a mild calf strain.

“I think it definitely helped him but he’s got to continue to improve and get better each and every day,” LaFleur said of playing it safe and sitting Jones against the Texans. “I know he’s doing everything in his power. We just want to be very, very careful with him and not put him in a position where he misses a significant amount of time. Obviously he’s a huge part to this whole team and everything that he brings on game day. We’ll be smart with him but hoping to get him back sooner than later as well.”

Left tackle David Bakhtiari, cornerback Kevin King and safety Darnell Savage were the other starters to miss the Houston game.