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Nick Perry furthest away from returning among Packers' injured five

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Davante Adams, Morgan Burnett, T.J. Lang and B.J. Raji all have a chance to play this week against the San Diego Chargers

Nick Perry, not so much.

“I think really the farthest one away is Nick Perry,” Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy said before Wednesday’s practice.

The outside linebacker, who has 3.5 sacks in his last three games, likely will need this week and next week’s bye to recover from the shoulder injury he sustained in Sunday’s win over the St. Louis Rams. Perry had shoulder surgery this offseason, but it’s unclear whether this injury is related.

The quartet of Adams (ankle), Burnett (calf), Lang (knee) and Raji (groin) all are expected to do some on-field work on Wednesday but it may be limited to pre-practice drills.

Adams hasn’t played since he reinjured his sprained left ankle three plays into the Sept. 28 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and Burnett hasn’t played since Sept. 20 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Lang and Raji left Sunday’s game against the Rams but both said they avoided major injury. Lang has a minor sprain in his right knee, and Raji said tests showed only some swelling in his groin but no damage.

McCarthy said the upcoming bye week will not factor into the decision to play or hold out players on Sunday against the Chargers.

“My philosophy is that if they’re healthy, they play,” McCarthy said. “If they’re not healthy, then they shouldn’t play. How do you define health? I’m not going to get into that. It’s an NFL season. After the first game everybody has been through how many car wrecks? What these guys do for a living is so unique. So no one is 100 percent and won’t be for some time. That’s not the goal. But if you’re healthy enough, they play. That’s always been our status.”