A couple of weeks ago, Bengals middle linebacker, Rey Maualuga, surprisingly showed up on the team's injury report with an ankle ailment. The team made this injury public right before the game versus the Colts, which paved way for Dan Skuta to get his first career start. While Skuta played admirably against the Colts (we didn't see or hear about him being out of position and/or missing plays), the team definitely misses its starting linebacker and budding team captain.
Then, more information came out on the extent of Maualuga's injury. Shortly after the injury was officially announced, Maualuga had his ankle in a cast, giving Bengals fans that all too familiar feeling of fear and dread associated with a starter looking to head to the Injured Reserve List. Thankfully, an MRI was conducted on Maualuga's ankle and showed that he had a lateral sprain, and with that type of injury he'd be week-to-week regarding his return to the lineup.
Some more good news surfaced today. First, from Maualuga himself. Via his Twitter account, he announced that the cast on his ankle was removed today. There's currently no indication if he's in a walking boot in lieu of the cast, off of his crutches, or anything like that; but this is a good indication of progress on an injury that has a tendency to linger.
Then, from Bengals.com, Geoff Hobson reports that Maualuga is eyeing his return for the November 6th game against Tennessee. Though Hobson labeled Maualuga's return is indeed against Tennesee as a "best case scenario", it's still relieving to know that he should return for the slew of very important divisional games that the Bengals still have yet to play.