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Forte not hurt as bad as reports indicate

Bears coach Lovie Smith downplayed various media reports about the severity of the injury that running back Matt Forte suffered in the third quarter of Thursday night’s loss to the Packers.

“Matt Forte does not have a high ankle sprain,” Smith said. “He has an ankle sprain. As far as when he’ll be back, I don’t know. I was hoping he would look about the way he did today.”

Asked about the possibility of Forte playing against the Rams, Smith said: “We’re not ruling him out of anything just yet, but he has a long ways to go. I don’t want you to start thinking he’ll be out there practicing  tomorrow. He’s not, but we’re making progress.”