Iowa alum and former Packer first-round pick Lukas Van Ness has been out of practice for over a month, but made a return to the field on Thursday.

The former Hawkeye has been out with a foot injury since the win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Per AcmePackingCompany.com:

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The injury news continues to be positive for the Green Bay Packers this week. On Wednesday, seven players who were listed on the team’s injury report leading up to the Philadelphia Eagles game did not appear on the Packers’ initial injury report of Week 11 at all. Now, defensive end Lukas Van Ness (foot) has returned to practice for the first time since his injury against the Cincinnati Bengals over a month ago.

When healthy, Van Ness has been the third defensive end in the Packers’ rotation, behind only Micah Parsons and Gary, and contributed as a defensive tackle in Green Bay’s “Cheetah” packages, where the team has played three defensive ends at the same time to help improve their pass-rushing chances.

The Packers have been solid on defense in Van Ness' absence, but he will definitely bring a boost along the defensive line and at pass rush when he is activated.

The Packers currently rank 5th in yards per game allowed, 7th in points allowed, and have racked up 22 sacks thus far this season.

Green Bay travels to take on the New York Giants this weekend, a noon kickoff time. Listen to the game on ESPN 102.3 AM 1000 KSOO!

Source: Acme Packing Company