Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua has missed the past two weeks with a hip injury, but he’s working towards a return, and it sounds like he’s making strides.
As the Rams prepare for a Sunday showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles, Nacua provided a bit of an update on his injury status as he continues to work his way back.
‘One day at a time’
Nacua returned to practice this week, and while he was listed as limited, he claims that he was a full participant. The Rams superstar also said that he is taking it “one day at a time.”
“I’m taking it one day at a time, but I felt great being out there, full practice today for the first time,” Nacua told reporters on Thursday via Pro Football Talk. “I’m getting my feet under me, hearing all the play calls. It’s not as foreign as it used to sound from Matthew Stafford, but he’s definitely in full flow and rhythm. It’s nice to be able to hear that play call in the huddle. I have to make sure I buckle my stuff up before so I can really focus on what he’s saying.”
Nacua also spoke on the nature of his injury as he revealed that he first noticed the injury in practice a few weeks ago.
“Just in some of the change of direction stuff, some of the stuff in my hip area just was not feeling great,” Nacua said. “It was causing me some pain and some restriction in some of my movements. I was trying to grind through it, but definitely some sharp pains that I started to feel that put me down.”
“The hip area, this right side on the front side of the hip and groin,” Nacua said. “I was feeling it really in that hip. Then with all the connection, understanding . . . everything in this hip area being tied down to all parts of everything, core and change of direction and things like that so really on the right hip-groin area.”
Back to normal
While the injury was nagging him for the past few weeks, it sounds like Nacua is back to where he wants to be.
“One hundred percent,” Nacua said. “I’ve been working through it like getting acceleration, change of direction. Today being a full participant in practice, I was definitely able to work through some of the rustiness.”
We’ll have to see how Nacua performs when he gets back on the field.
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