DB Charles Woodson should be ready for the playoffs. (US Presswire)

For the past couple of weeks, Packers coach Mike McCarthy has insisted that veteran DB Charles Woodson, who’s missed two months with a broken collarbone, would play as soon as he’s ready. The Packers were not going to intentionally rest Woodson to give him extra time to fully heal for the playoffs, McCarthy said.

On Thursday, the coach more or less admitted that, while Woodson indeed has yet to be cleared by team doctors, there has been a bit of strategic willingness to let him sit. Come playoff time, though, that will change and Woodson more than likely will be on the field.

“A lot of our decisions, you have risk assessment,” McCarthy said Thursday. “I think that the time I have spent around Charles Woodson, his risk assessment will go out the window when it comes time to play in a playoff game. We’re trying to be smart with this. Obviously he’s part of the decision, but it’s the doctor’s call right now.”

Woodson has already been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Minnesota, which will be his ninth straight spent on the sidelines. The few times he’s been available to the media, he’s expressed that he desperately wants to play and feels he can. He’s said there have been no setbacks in his recovery and he’s just waiting for the medical staff to give him the green light.

In the meantime, he’s been running routes as a scout-team wide receiver to stay active. He hasn’t taken or delivered any hits, but there’s little concern inside team facilities that the savvy, 36-year-old Woodson will be able to reintegrate himself into a defense that has given up an average of just 19 points per game in his absence.

“He spends a lot of extra time here, and how we utilize him will be to our benefit,” McCarthy said. “It may be the same, it may be different than how he has been used before.”

Woodson plays safety in the base 3-4 defense and moves to slot cornerback in the oft-used nickel package. Second-year S M.D. Jennings and rookie CB Casey Hayward have played admirably in his stead, though all of the defensive backs have noted the unit can only be enhanced by the return of the eight-time Pro Bowler.

In other injury news, K Mason Crosby was limited at Thursday’s practice after being sent home sick with the flu the day before. McCarthy said Crosby was still “under the weather” but he’s confident Crosby will be ready for Sunday’s game.

It appears RG Josh Sitton passed his cognition test and is progressing well along the NFL-mandated concussion protocol. Sitton did not participate on Wednesday but was limited on Thursday.

Also on the offensive line, C Evan Dietrich-Smith (knee) improved to full participation and seems on track to start his second consecutive game at center in replacement of veteran Jeff Saturday. Saturday, who’s been limited the past two weeks with neck and shoulder soreness, was not benched because of injury.

The beleaguered and depleted defensive line should get a big boost on Sunday with the probable return of DEs C.J. Wilson (knee) and Jerel Worthy (hamstring), who both were full participants on Thursday. That would be welcome news for a unit that has to face Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, who gashed Green Bay for 210 yards in Week 13.

TE Tom Crabtree (hamstring), RB Alex Green (concussion) and WR Jordy Nelson (hamstring) were also full participants and all figure to play on Sunday.

Two players were downgraded from limited to nonparticipants. WR Randall Cobb (ankle/knee) sat out and will be tested on Friday, all part of the team’s plan for him, McCarthy said. CB Davon House, who injured a shoulder that he first hurt in preseason, could miss the Minnesota game.

As has been the case for three weeks, RB James Starks (knee) did not participate. The Packers hope to get him back in the postseason.

Follow Packers reporter James Carlton on Twitter: @CBSPackers and @jimmycarlton88.