EJ Manuel injury: Bills QB cleared to return to practice

Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel told reporters on Monday that he has been medically cleared to return to practice in full this week, and that his status for Sunday's road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be decided by head coach Doug Marrone.

EJ Manuel has been cleared by the doctors to do everything. Now it's up to the #Bills and HC Doug Marrone as to when he returns.

— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) November 4, 2013

Manuel, who sprained an LCL in an October 3 loss to Cleveland, has missed each of the Bills' last four games. According to the recovery timetable Marrone set for Manuel three weeks ago, he was scheduled to miss at least one more week, so clearly he has recovered from the injury faster than anticipated.

The Bills are 1-3 in games that Manuel did not start, with Thad Lewis going 1-2 and Jeff Tuel losing yesterday's game against Kansas City. As such, it's difficult to imagine a scenario in which Marrone prevents a healthy Manuel from returning to the lineup in Week 10 - though obviously, at this point, the situation is still very much up in the air.

In most of five games this season, Manuel has completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 985 yards with five touchdowns, three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 79.4. The Bills are 2-2 in games that Manuel started and finished.