Steelers star safety Polamalu may not return this season

With only four games left for the season and his left knee still not fine to work on field, the Pittsburgh Steelers star safety Troy Polamalu begins to feel that he may not be back on field for the rest of season.

Although his latest injury to his posterior cruciate ligament was originally considered to be less severe than the anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out of the Steelers’ second through fifth games, it has already kept him out for the Steelers’ last three games and will keep him out for fourth consecutive game when the Steelers play against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

After the game against the Browns, Polamalu will have 10 days to prepare for the next game on Dec. 20 against the Green Bay Packers. But by so far the No. 43 Troy Polamalu jersey has not appeared in any Steelers practice, so it remains uncertain whether the star safety could return on field before the season ends.

Steelers safety Polamalu sat out second straight practice Thursday

The Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu sat out his second straight day of practice while looking after his injured left knee, but he is still expected to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings if he is able to practice on Friday.

After a four-game layoff with a torn medical collateral ligament, Polamalu managed to return and make an interception Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Unfortunately he jammed his knee into the turf once during that game. However, later Coach Mike Tomlin indicated Polamalu was not reinjured on the play.

Polamalu is not believed to have had a setback in his rehabilitation, so as long as he could practice Friday, he will be seen wearing his No. 43 Steelers jersey in Sunday’s game as the Steelers usually require a player to practice only once in advance of a game.