GREEN BAY, Wis. – Ty Montgomery thought he was ready to return three weeks ago until his sprained left ankle gave out – again – in practice.

So it’s understandable that the Green Bay Packers rookie receiver, who hasn’t played in nearly two months after sustaining a high ankle sprain on Oct. 18 against the San Diego Chargers, doesn’t want to make any proclamations at this point.

“Still got to wait and see how the week goes,” Montgomery said. “I mean, you can have one day and it depends on how your body reacts to that one day and how much you did, so we’ll see.”

However, after Montgomery made it through two straight days of practice this week, coach Mike McCarthy spoke optimistically about his status for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

“Well, Ty Montgomery has definitely cleared a hurdle that he hasn't cleared in prior weeks,” McCarthy said before Thursday’s practice. “He's practicing so, so far so good. We'll see what he can do today.”

The setback came Nov. 19, one day after Montgomery was listed as a full participant in practice for the first time since his injury. Early in that full-pads practice, Montgomery pulled himself out after he felt some pain in his ankle.

With the Packers scheduled to go in pads again Thursday, there’s still another hurdle for Montgomery to clear.

It’s been a frustrating two months for Montgomery, who said he initially thought he broke his leg when the injury occurred against the Chargers.

Missing two months was not how Montgomery envisioned his rookie season.

“No, it’s not,” he said. “But it doesn’t always go the way we plan it. I feel like you can make an analogy to football in every situation. You have a game plan, but it doesn’t always go that way, so you’ve got to make adjustments and you’ve got to come in at halftime and change some things. That’s kind of how it is.”

The Packers have been hit hard by ankle injuries this season; Davante Adams, Bryan Bulaga and Corey Linsley are among the starters who have missed time because of that ailment. But none missed nearly as much action as Montgomery.

“No matter what people say about you or the amount of time you’ve been sitting out, you’ve got to know your body and you’ve got to stay confident,” Montgomery said. “You’ve got to make the best decision for you because it doesn’t do any good to go out there and hurt it worse or to go out there and not be able to do what you’re supposed to do.”

When asked whether he’s heard people question his toughness, Montgomery quickly added: “No, it’s nothing anybody says, but you see it in the media sometimes with injuries. Nobody has said anything to me. I’m not taking anything personally.”

Montgomery was one of the early stars of training camp and after Jordy Nelson’s season-ending knee injury on Aug. 23, it looked like the third-round pick from Stanford would have a significant role in the offense and on special teams as a returner.

In the first six games of the regular season, Montgomery caught 15 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He was on pace for 40 catches, 363 yards and five touchdowns, which would have surpassed Adams’ production in both catches and touchdowns from his rookie season last year.

“It's been a minute since he's been out there, so he brings some fresh legs and he brings a lot to the offense, too,” Adams said. “It'd be great [to get Montgomery back]."