Bills' star receiver Sammy Watkins may be limited against Raiders

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Buffalo Bills receiver Sammy Watkins returned to practice on Thursday, but his offensive coordinator said the wideout is still dealing with a broken bone in his left foot as the team gets ready to face the Raiders on Sunday.

Watkins recently returned after missing two months of action.

“Last I heard, the guy has a broken bone in his foot,” offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said. “I’m just thankful to have him for any time he can give us.”

Watkins missed practice on Wednesday due to foot soreness before returning on a limited basis on Thursday.

The Bills’ top receiver originally suffered the injury in the offseason and had surgery in April, when he had two screws inserted into his left foot to repair a stress fracture. He aggravated the injury in Week 3 when a teammate stepped on his foot at a walkthrough and was placed on injured reserve. He returned from injured reserve last week.

Bills coach Rex Ryan said Watkins looked good in his return Thursday.

“He was able to do quite a bit today,” Ryan said. “I believe (he will play Sunday) unless there’s some kind of setback.”

Watkins was unavailable to speak to reporters on Thursday and declined to speak on Wednesday.

Watkins had a big impact in his first game back against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. He provided a boost to the league’s worst passing attack with three receptions for 80 yards.

Upon returning to the practice field last week, Watkins said that his biggest hurdle was stamina and conditioning, not pain.

According to Lynn, however, pain tolerance is the biggest reason for Watkins’ limited availability.

“Well, I mean, the guy has a broken bone in his foot, I don’t know if he’s going to play one play or 20 plays,” Lynn said. “So we’ll just see how big his role is. I’d like to keep him there the whole time but I can’t say. He’s tough, he’s very determined to stay on the football field and help us win games but he has a broken bone in his foot at the end of the day.”

“From my understanding it’s a pain tolerance deal and how long he can stay out there,” Lynn said.

The Bills (6-5) will be shorthanded at receiver against Oakland (9-2) either way. Robert Woods (knee) and Percy Harvin (migraines) are not expected to play, and Marquise Goodwin left practice Thursday with a wrist injury. Buffalo’s only other receivers are Justin Hunter, Brandon Tate and Dez Lewis. Lewis was recently promoted from the practice squad.