Chargers fans get the Derwin James injury news they were waiting for

Things are finally starting to turn around for the LA Chargers after the team has battled injuries all season long. The Bolts are coming off of two huge wins against AFC playoff opponents that catapulted them into the sixth seed with an 8-6 record.

In addition to winning some big games, the team is starting to get healthier as well. After not having his top three receivers share the field much at all, Justin Herbert has had the benefit of a mostly healthy offense the last two weeks.

Brandon Staley's defense has played its best ball of the season after the bye week and the last two weeks in particular have been the most impressive as the team has succeeded without Derwin James. James last played against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13 and has not been practicing with a quad injury.

His return timeline was unclear but Chargers fans got exactly the news they were waiting for on Thursday.

Derwin James returns to practice for the LA Chargers.

This is a great sign for James playing in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts. James and the Bolts get the added benefit of the game being a day later on Monday (or two days later than most NFL games, which take place on Saturday) to give him ample time to return.

James returning to the defense, with how this team is playing, is a scary idea for the Chargers' upcoming opponents. If only the team could get Joey Bosa back in the fold soon as well...

Joey Bosa still has not returned to practice for the Chargers.

Joey Bosa has been out of action since Week 3 with a torn groin that originally was given a timeline of 8-10 weeks to heal. The injury has taken a bit longer for Bosa to come back from and with no updates, it is extremely unlikely that he will suit up the day after Christmas against the Colts.

It is a bummer that Bosa is not returning but it is also critical that the Chargers give him as much time as he needs. The last thing the team should do is rush Bosa back from injury, especially with a playoff berth potentially on the horizon. The Chargers need Bosa for the playoffs and as long as they can get him back for that it will be considered a win.

Plus, the pass rush had arguably its best game of the entire season in Week 15 against the Tennessee Titans. With the level of opponent not being high in the coming weeks, the Chargers can afford to trust them to turn in another effort while Bosa gets back to 100%.

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Hopefully, that can happen before the playoffs so he can get some kind of run before the games really start to matter. But as long as he returns for the playoffs it will be huge.