Injury update: Devin McCourty, Dwayne Allen return to Patriots practice

The New England Patriots are back on the practice field, kicking their preparations for the upcoming divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers into a higher gear. While the exact participation labels will not be known until the team releases its first injury report of the week later today, we already know that the club’s overall health appears to be trending in the right direction.

According to reporters in Foxboro, the Patriots had perfect participation today. This means that two players who were absent during the last practice session partially open to the media returned: safety and defensive captain Devin McCourty and tight end Dwayne Allen. McCourty left the regular season finale against the New York Jets with a concussion, while Allen has been bothered by a knee injury ever since the Patriots’ week 10 game in Tennessee.

While their availability for Sunday’s game is still up in the air, seeing both players return to practice is obviously good news for the club. McCourty is a core defender in the best secondary remaining in the playoffs, while Allen is a valuable rotational player that sees most of his worker as a blocking tight end.