Will Bucky Irving return in Week 11? Latest injury update on Buccaneers running back

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Will Bucky Irving return in Week 11? Latest injury update on Buccaneers running back image

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It seems like another lifetime ago that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had running back Bucky Irving on the field.

Irving is working his way back from shoulder and toe injuries that have sidelined him since Week 5. We haven't heard much about Irving since then, outside of the fact that he hasn't logged a single practice.

What we do know is that Irving's shoulder injury, which was diagnosed as shoulder subluxation is the bigger issue than his foot sprain, as ESPN's Adam Schefter reported early last month.

As we turn the page to Week 11, many are wondering if Irving will finally make his return to the field. Here's what we know.

Will Bucky Irving return in Week 11?

There is still no indication that Irving will be back in Week 11.

Initial reports said Irving would miss at least two weeks, but we are well past that timeline after the Bucs running back has missed five games in a row.

It begs the question: why didn't the Bucs place Irving on injured reserve?

Well, either the injuries are worse than initially feared, or he suffered a setback. The good news is, the Bucs still haven't placed him on injured reserve, which suggests they expect Irving back soon.

We did get a look at Irving moving around pretty well ahead of the Week 11 kickoff for the game against the New England Patriots, so there's that.

But we also know that Irving didn't practice at all last week, which means he wasn't close to playing.

At this point, we'd say there's a 50/50 chance, at best, Irving plays in Week 11.

We'll know more on Wednesday, when the Bucs drop their first injury report of the week.

If Irving sits out again, the Bucs will deploy Sean Tucker and Rachaad White, who have seen their workloads even out in recent weeks after White dominated work initially.

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