Sick bay: Latest on Urlacher, Jeffrey, Carimi

Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher already has been declared out of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings with his hamstring injury suffered in the Seattle game. But, for a change, the Bears are on track to get some good injury news.

Rookie wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was able to practice on a limited basis after missing the past two games following minor knee surgery. Given that he missed four games with a fractured hand and two with his knee injury and only played in one of the last seven, his return is being met with reservations.

“We’re excited to have him back, but I want to temper that by we haven’t had him for any length of time this year to get him really in a groove,” said offensive coordinator Mike Tice. “[He is] certainly a talent. He’s shown in the games he has played that he can be a talent for us and certainly a complement [to] Brandon [Marshall].

“So that really helps us because when they try to key on Brandon, we really have two go-to guys on the field at the same time...Let’s just see how the week of practice goes and hopefully there are no setbacks.”

Earl Bennett (concussion), Michael Bush (ribs), Tim Jennings (shoulder) and Stephen Paea (foot) were out of practice, and Marshall rested on coaches' orders.

Devin Hester (concussion) was limited in practice, as was Gabe Carimi with a sore hamstring. And while guard Chris Spencer (knee) also was limited, the plan remains to leave Carimi as the starter at right guard.

“Right now, we don’t anticipate any changes up front,” Tice said. “We felt like the line played solid football [vs. Seattle]. Certainly not great football, but solid football.

“Anytime with a line, you want to have the same guys in there, so there’s no sense at this point of the week making any drastic changes. We’re just trying to keep building on some of the things we’ve done the last two weeks.”

The Vikings were without defensive end Jared Allen (back, shoulder) and wide receiver Percy Harvin (ankle). Allen is expected to play but Harvin is likely out.

Tight end Kyle Rudolph (shoulder), linebacker Jasper Brinkley (shoulder), tackle Phil Loadholt (knee), center John Sullivan (ribs, knee) and cornerback Antoine Winfield (knee) were limited on Wednesday.