ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Nick Fairley wakes up most mornings by 7:30 a.m. He’s in the Detroit Lions practice facility by 9 and then, the consistent rehabilitation of his knee injury begins.

The defensive tackle estimates he is working on his knee between three and four hours every day, between lifting weights, being in the training room and working on rehab as well. He also fits in team meetings with the defensive line as well so his mind can stay sharp.

It's all in an effort to see if he can try to return to the Lions this season after suffering a knee injury in Week 8 against Atlanta. Since that point, Lions coach Jim Caldwell has been noncommittal on Fairley’s status for the season, often saying he’s not sure if the fourth-year defensive tackle from Auburn would return.

“Guys in my D-line room are helping me out a whole lot,” Fairley said. “The guys have been sending me texts back and forth. On Sundays, I’m sitting there at one in the morning. Guys like [Ndamukong] Suh sent me one like five minutes ago, ‘How you doing?’ He had seen me walk in today.

“They stay on top of me and help keep me in a positive mind.”

He’s been doing a pretty good job of that himself, too. Fairley said he weighs 292 pounds and he looks about as slim as he did during offseason workouts, when he was probably the most fit at any point in his Lions career. He still has his personal chef and has been able to keep the weight off despite not being able to run or ride the bike yet.

He said he doesn’t know when he’ll reach that point, but is sure he’ll be told about it the day before.

“Early on, it’s always a little bit difficult for them,” Caldwell said. “The initial thing that happens to him is a bit of estrangement because they are not out there doing the work, but yet he stayed and came around quite a bit. We try to keep him around as much as we can, but you can also see when they are starting to make some headway.

“You can see them liven up a little bit more. He’s off those crutches and walking around and you hear him, which is comforting. But he’s doing better.”

Fairley has been walking around the facility with a brace on his knee -- one similar to what offensive linemen typically wear in games.

Before Fairley’s injury, he had 14 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. He was also one of Detroit’s best run stoppers, although the Lions have been able to make up for his absence with C.J. Mosley, Darryl Tapp and Jason Jones.

He had, though, been playing some of the best ball of his career in his contract year. And while he tries not to think about it, he admits his future crosses his mind from time to time.

“Really, I can’t avoid thinking about it,” Fairley said. “It’s hit me. It’s going to be here. It’s going to come about. So right now, I just got to keep it in the background, can’t think about it.

“I just got to wait until that time comes.”

He meant about his contract, but he could have been two-fold there – with his future both off the field and on it.