Lions-Cowboys injury report: Nick Fairley doubtful for Sunday

With defensive tackle Nick Fairley practicing on back-to-back days, the Detroit Lions seemed to be growing more and more hopeful about his chances of playing on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Caldwell joked when asked about saying Monday that it would take "a miracle' for Fairley to play Sunday. "I said that last year."

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) January 2, 2015

Unfortunately for the Lions, Fairley has been declared doubtful for Sunday's game. Albert Breer reports that Fairley "wasn't cleared for team drills," indicating that he's still another week away from being ready to play. There was some speculation that Fairley could play a limited number of snaps anyway, but his doubtful status indicates that the Lions will likely have to advance to the divisional round for him to return this season.

In other injury news, the Lions have already ruled out offensive guard Larry Warford, who missed practice all week with a knee injury. This means that Travis Swanson will likely start at right guard against Dallas.

Here's the Lions' full injury report for the wild-card round of the playoffs:

WR Calvin Johnson (ankle) - Probable
OG Larry Warford (knee) - Out
DE Ziggy Ansah (toe) - Probable
DE Darryl Tapp (not injury related) - Probable
DT Nick Fairley (knee) - Doubtful

And here's the Cowboys' injury report:

QB Tony Romo (back) - Probable
RB DeMarco Murray (hand) - Probable
OT Doug Free (ankle) - Doubtful
OG Zack Martin (ankle) - Probable
DT Josh Brent (calf) - Probable
DT Nick Hayden (shoulder) - Probable
DT Tyrone Crawford (illness) - Questionable
LB Anthony Hitchens (ankle) - Questionable
LB Rolando McClain (knee/illness) - Probable
LB Bruce Carter (knee) - Probable
LB Dekoda Watson (hamstring) - Probable
S C.J. Spillman (groin) - Probable
S Jeff Heath (thumb) - Probable