John Nestor

Arian Foster
Arian Foster

The Houston Texans got off to a good start in week one and received some good news when running back Arian Foster returned to practice for the first time since aggravating a left hamstring injury on Aug. 27.

Foster expects to play on Sunday at Miami after sitting out of the Texans' Week 1 victory over Indianapolis.

"That's the plan," Foster said. "But you never know with hamstring injuries. They're tricky, man. Sometimes, they'll sneak up on you. It felt good (at practice). I was pretty fluid, but you've got to ease along hamstring injuries.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak said that Foster had "a normal Wednesday load for a starter." The key, Kubiak said, will be how Foster feels Thursday.

"Everything was positive today at practice, so we'll see," Kubiak said. "I think it's about him getting his confidence back and just cutting it loose. I just told him to be smart today, but he's on top of his stuff. Had he not been out for a few weeks, I wouldn't have known.

Hopefully you wake up tomorrow and he felt good coming out of it and we move on to the next day."

Foster no doubt makes the Texans' offense better but he was hardly missed in the season opener. Second-year running back Ben Tate ran for 116 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries against the Colts.

Foster led the league in rushing last season with 1,616 yards and racked up 18 touchdowns.

"No matter who's healthy, who's not, I approach it the same every week," Tate said. "(That) was a good game for me. It was last week, I'm past that now and I'm trying to get ready for the Dolphins."

Running back Derrick Ward started in Week 1 and had 11 carries for 39 yards and a touchdown before leaving with a sprained ankle. Ward did not practice on Wednesday and is day-to-day.

NFL 2011 Week 2 - Texans' Star Running Back Arian Foster Returns to Practice