Devin Hester to start running soon

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons wide receiver/returner Devin Hester is recovering nicely from his turf toe injury, according to head coach Dan Quinn.

“Yeah, we reset the timeclock on him to have his toe heal,” Quinn said. “He went back in the boot, now he’s out of the boot, doing the exercise, and he starts the on field running soon.”

Hester was placed on short-term injured reserve on Oct. 6. He is more than hallway through the six-week period that he must sit out before returning to practice.

The six-week period will expire on Nov. 17.

Hester will also not be eligible to return to the active/inactive list until eight weeks, which is Week 13 of the season and the Falcons play at Tampa Bay.

“All steps are moving in the right direction for him,” Quinn said. “He’s working extremely hard to get back. He’s going to be a factor for us. Soon enough he’ll be back at full strength and going. We don’t have him out at practice yet, but that comes in a few more weeks.”