Amendola, four other Patriots return but listed as limited

Jan 19, 2017 • 1:44 pm

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When the New England Patriots practiced Thursday morning, receivers Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan, tight end Martellus Bennett, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive end Jabaal Sheard were all present and accounted for on the practice field, according to New England Sports Network.

None of those five players took the field Wednesday as full participants for New England. NESN reported that all 53 players on the active roster were on the field as the Patriots practiced in sweats Thursday as opposed to Wednesday's fully-padded practice.

Hours after it was reported that all five were a full-go, the same five wound up on Thursday's limited list, along with receiver Malcom Mitchell and running back Brandon Bolden.

Amendola suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 13 in the Patriots' game against the Rams. He returned to practice eight days ago on Jan. 11 and missed both targets against the Texans last week but ran once for 15 yards. Amendola has just 23 catches this season but has caught four touchdowns and is vital in the return game. Hogan, meanwhile, left last week's game with a minor thigh injury.

Bennett, starting in place of an injured Rob Gronkowski at tight end, took some time off after going down late in last week's Divisional Round game with a knee injury. He said he's been fighting through the injury all season.. He returned in the game, though, catching just one pass for 4 yards.

Hightower returned to full participation after being limited Wednesday with a nagging knee injury. The linebacker leads the Patriots this postseason with eight total tackles. Sheard, a former standout at Pitt, has been battling a knee injury all season. The two have combined for 7.5 of New England's 34 sacks.