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Houston Texans star J.J. Watt returned to practice Tuesday, clearing the way for him to potentially suit up for a playoff game in two weeks.
Watt has been out since Oct. 27 after tearing a pectoral muscle. The injury required surgery to repair and the team feared he would be out 3 to 4 months recovering. His removal from the injury reserve list came as a surprise as Houston prepared for their game against the Tennessee Titans.
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Houston will have 21 days to officially add him to the active roster. If they plan to play him the weekend of Jan. 4-5, they will have to activate him by 4 p.m. ET the day before the game.
“I'm excited to get back out there,” Watt told reporters. “The plan is to play in the first playoff game.”
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Players put on the injured reserve with a designation to return must miss eight games before playing again. Watt has missed seven so far and will not be allowed to play against the Titans on Sunday.
Watt has had major surgery three out of the last four seasons. He missed 13 games in 2016 with a back injury that required surgery and played five games in 2017 before breaking his leg. He played all 16 games last season and was named to the first-team All-Pro after recording 16 sacks.
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The three-time Defensive Player of the Year had four sacks through eight games this season before the pectoral injury.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.