Fitzpatrick cleared to play Sunday after last week's appendectomy taken on the South Side (Steelers)

ABIGAIL DEAN / STEELERS

Minkah Fitzpatrick during Friday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Just six days after undergoing an appendectomy, Minkah Fitzpatrick has been cleared to play in the Steelers' upcoming game against the Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium.

Fitzpatrick returned to practice Thursday as a full participant, and followed that workload with another full day of participation on Friday. 

The Steelers' star safety had no injury designation on Friday's injury report, and a team official confirmed he is cleared to play.

By the time Fitzpatrick takes the field, it will be only eight days after having his appendix removed. There is obvious concern from fans and media alike, but Fitzpatrick told us Thursday he was taking it day by day and "definitely" didn't want to rush back.

According to what the doctors told Fitzpatrick, there is almost no concern of any internal injuries when he's cleared to return to the field.

"The doctor told me I can't really do too much damage (internally). That's going to heal pretty quickly on its own," Fitzpatrick said Thursday. "The worry is when they cut open, they cut through muscle to get (there). So you just want to make sure that's healed properly before you get out there and go full speed."

Fitzpatrick's return is obviously a huge boost to the Steelers' defense, assuming there are no setbacks between now and Sunday afternoon. The Steelers will finally be able to deploy the three-safety look they've wanted to utilize since training camp, putting Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds and Damontae Kazee on the field at the same time.

Kazee missed the first eight games of the season due to a five-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy and recovery from a fractured forearm.

"Kazee's a great player," Fitzpatrick said Thursday. "I love practicing with him. I haven't gotten to play with him yet, but I'm excited to see what it looks like with all three of us out there making plays. He never has a bad day. He's full of energy. Full of excitement. He brings passion to the game. I like playing with Kazee a lot."

The Steelers are relatively healthy heading into Sunday. Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) is the only player with any injury designation on Friday's injury report, and he was ruled out after not practicing all week.

Everyone else who made an appearance on this week's injury reports -- Najee Harris (knee), Marcus Allen (illness), Devin Bush (knee), Kevin Dotson (hip), Trent Scott (back), Jesse Davis (knee), T.J. Watt (pectoral/vet rest), Cam Heyward (vet rest) and Larry Ogunjobi (knee) -- was cleared to play against the Bengals.

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