Lions injuries to keep an eye on going into training camp

When the Detroit Lions wrapped up their offseason training program back in June, they had several players dealing with injuries going into the pre-training camp break. Given that the players have not yet returned from that pre-training camp break, there is no new information on where things stand from a health standpoint. In all likelihood, we will start to get some updates on them next week when injured players report for training camp on Tuesday.

In the meantime, let's set the stage for the Lions' injury situation by recapping which players were banged up coming out of last month's minicamp:

• RB Joique Bell (surgery on knee/Achilles)
• OT LaAdrian Waddle (surgery on partially torn ACL)
  
• OT Cornelius Lucas (unknown)
• TE Joseph Fauria (ankle)
• DE Jason Jones (procedure on knee)
• LB Stephen Tulloch (surgery on torn ACL)
  
• LB DeAndre Levy (unknown)
• CB Nevin Lawson (surgery on dislocated foot)

There are a lot of surgeries listed above, but it's important to note when they took place. Stephen Tulloch and Nevin Lawson, for example, both had surgery early on in the 2014 season, and both players took part in individual drills during the minicamp. That's an indication that they should be ready to go, at least on a limited basis, when training camp begins.

Joique Bell and LaAdrian Waddle, on the other hand, had surgery back in January at the beginning of the offseason. Neither player took part in the offseason training program, but that could simply be a case of the Lions being extra cautious. Their status for the beginning of training camp remains up in the air, and a trip to the PUP list could be in order for them, at least when practice first begins.

Jason Jones just had a "procedure" last month, which is why he was absent from the Lions' minicamp. One report characterized the procedure as arthroscopic knee surgery, but that's unconfirmed. A timetable for his return is also unconfirmed, but the thinking has been that Jones will be back in time for the start of the regular season. What that means for his ability to take part in training camp remains to be seen.

Finally, in the non-surgery category, we have Cornelius Lucas, Joseph Fauria and DeAndre Levy. It's unknown what exactly kept Lucas out of the minicamp and what limited Levy to individual drills, but neither injury is believed to be serious. With Fauria, we know he was limited to individual drills because he is still recovering from the ankle injury that plagued his 2014 season. All indications are that he will be good to go by training camp.