Lions injury report: James Ihedigbo making good progress

The Detroit Lions' injury report is quite depressing to look at right now. It's not only quite lengthy, but there's a lot of bad news in it. Case in point: Wide receiver Calvin Johnson missed practice for the second day in a row because of an ankle injury, and tight end Joseph Fauria was added to the injury report after suffering an ankle injury of his own at home on Wednesday night. What's more, three other players missed practice on Thursday:

RB Joique Bell (knee) - Fully practiced
FB Montell Owens (hamstring) - Limited in practice
WR Calvin Johnson (ankle) - Did not practice
TE Joseph Fauria (ankle) - Did not practice
OT LaAdrian Waddle (calf) - Limited in practice
DE Ziggy Ansah (knee) - Fully practiced
DE George Johnson (groin) - Fully practiced
DT Nick Fairley (biceps) - Limited in practice
LB Travis Lewis (quadricep) - Did not practice
CB Cassius Vaughn (ankle) - Did not practice
S James Ihedigbo (neck) - Fully practiced
S Don Carey (hamstring) - Did not practice

Let's switch gears and focus on some positive news. For starters, safety James Ihedigbo fully practiced for the second day in a row, and he appears to be on track to return to action this week.

Ihedigbo cleared for practice contact. #Lions

— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) September 25, 2014

Ihedigbo has been out since mid-August with a pinched nerve, so it would be nice for him to make his regular-season debut for the Lions this week. Isa Abdul-Quddus has done a good job of filling in for Ihedigbo, but the Lions need some good injury news in the secondary for a change.

On the other side of the ball, things are looking up for the status of right tackle LaAdrian Waddle.

LaAdrian Waddle working with the first-team OL today. James Ihedigbo practicing, too.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) September 25, 2014

Waddle has been sidelined since suffering a calf injury on the first drive of the regular season, and the Lions' offensive line has really struggled with both him and Corey Hilliard out. The Lions have tried to get by with Garrett Reynolds and Cornelius Lucas at right tackle, but they desperately need Waddle back. Hopefully he will make his return on Sunday against the New York Jets.