Prince out with hammy strain
One of the Bears’ starting cornerbacks is finally getting over a hamstring injury.
The other’s process is just beginning.
Prince Amukamara, who left practice Monday with a hamstring injury, was held out Wednesday with what coach John Fox called a strain. Fox said he’s day- to- day — a broad term he uses for a variety of timelines — but hamstrings rarely are.
“He’s one of the top guys,” fellow starter Marcus Cooper said. “Even dinged up, Prince is definitely one of those great guys up there. He has all the tools, and he knows how to use them.”
The Bears limited Cooper early in training camp because he was recovering from a hamstring injury.
Fox said in late July that “anytime you come off a hamstring, especially a skill player, it’s mental a lot — you don’t want to start all over again, so you’re cautious.”
The two figure to bring stability to the Bears’ defensive backfield, even if, as Cooper said, they’re still working on their chemistry this early in the preseason.
“Of course we’re not 100 percent with each other, but who would be?’’ Cooper said. “It’s early in the season, and we’re still working.”
Cooper had quite the career turnaround with the Cardinals last year. The team traded a conditional seventh- round pick for him at the start of the season; 13 starts and four interceptions later, the Bears gave him a three- year, $ 16 million free- agent contract.
He’s not concerned about heading to his old home, though.
“This is a business trip,” he said. “I want to focus on getting my body back right and continue to learn the defense, stuff like that.”
Surgery for Wheaton
Wide receiver Markus Wheaton had surgery to repair the broken pinkie on his left hand, Fox said.
Wheaton broke it Sunday when the ball struck his finger awkwardly on a curl route.
When Wheaton got hurt, it was the latest he’d played into practice since he had an appendectomy July 30.
Fox, as usual, hesitated to give a timeline.
“I’m not really good at predicting the news,” Fox said, “so we’ll just take it as it comes.”
This and that
Former Army medic and Vietnam veteran James McCloughan, who was presented the Medal of Honor on July 31, attended practice and mingled with players afterward.
The Bears will practice at Prospect High School at 6 p. m. Thursday. Free tickets have sold out on the team’s website.
“When we go to a different high school,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said, “I think that’s for the fans just so they can see us, exposure. But the change of scenery, we’re out here to work. We don’t really care what it is.”
Cornerback Johnthan Banks left practice with an injury, Fox said.
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