The Kansas City Chiefs have been bitten as hard as any NFL club by the injury bug so far this season. Luckily for the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, they’re starting to get healthier for the final stretch of the year.

Running back Isiah Pacheco is one of the players on the mend. The third-year man suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals and spent quite a while on injured reserve, but Kansas City designated him to return earlier this week. With his practice window opened and some progress made in the subsequent days, that put the former seventh-round pick in a good position entering Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Pacheco will have to wait a bit longer, however, as head coach Andy Reid shared on Friday that he’ll miss Week 11’s game. What could Pacheco’s outlook be for next weekend’s contest versus the Carolina Panthers, though? Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided a positive update on Sunday morning.

“For the Kansas City Chiefs, they, of course, are playing today,” Rapoport began. “They do not have their star running back, Isiah Pacheco. Started practicing this week, not quite ready. My understanding is that he is expected to be healthy enough next week. They have a short week coming up after that, so maybe the trainers hold him out just as a precaution, Rich. But he is coming, and it should be soon.”

If Pacheco is able to return for Week 12, it’d be a big-time boost for Kansas City. It would also present a double-edged sword of a situation. On one hand, facing a (currently) 3-7 team is a perfect opportunity to ease someone back into the fold in a somewhat low-pressure environment. On the other hand, the Chiefs have a Black Friday game against the Las Vegas Raiders right around the corner after that. Loading up Pacheco for two games in less than a week would be one heck of a welcoming back. In either event, Rapoport’s breakdown goes hand in hand with what he reported a couple of weeks ago: a “late-November” return for Pacheco.

Prior to getting injured, Pacheco was on a roll. In the aforementioned Bengals game, he racked up 90 yards on 19 carries and also hauled in five passes. Those 24 touches, ironically, are nearly identical to what Kareem Hunt has gotten since signing back with the team. Anything Pacheco gives them upon returning will help a ton, as neither the Chiefs nor Hunt seem worried about his workload but splitting reps between the two players could bring out the best of both.

After a long wait, the Kansas City backfield is close to full strength.

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