Packers RB James Starks hurt his knee against the Vikings and is expected to be out multiple weeks. (US Presswire)

For the Green and Gold this year, there’s been a whole lot of black and blue. The Packers’ injury report has become a daily salsa dance -- and not of the Victor Cruz variety -- as some players take a step forward in their recoveries, others take two steps back and still more fall down completely.

At one point during his Wednesday press conference, coach Mike McCarthy was asked if there was any new information on the return of a couple of injured players. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and was seemingly at a loss.

“I’m timelined out, frankly,” McCarthy said, adding that he didn’t know if the injured players would be ready for this week’s game against the Lions.

McCarthy later said that Thursday’s practice would be in pads but that he had no idea if any of the injured players would participate.

“We’ll see what the morning brings us,” he said about the team’s medical evaluations. “Every morning’s been different the last 10 days."

That’s the kind of season it’s been for the Packers, especially recently. With 10 players on injured reserve, including several key starters, and numerous more having been sidelined for extended periods of time, McCarthy is running out of ways to say “I don’t know,” and the Packers are running out of players to be the “next man up,” which is the team mantra for replacing injured teammates.

McCarthy on Wednesday announced that RB James Starks, who has just recently assumed the lead-dog role in the Packers’ backfield, suffered a knee injury in last week’s win over the Vikings. He said Starks felt something flare up on Monday but thought it was just a bruise and wanted to play through it. The medical staff, however, checked it out, tested it and “did not like what they saw,” McCarthy said.

“James Starks’ injury, it’ll definitely be multiple weeks,” McCarthy said. “He won’t be ready this week."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Packers placed little-used RB Johnny White on injured reserve with a concussion, a move that McCarthy did not address. With White and possibly Starks out for the season, the team signed veteran RB Ryan Grant, who played in Green Bay from 2007-2011, to provide fresh legs.

McCarthy was asked about myriad other players on the Packers’ injury report. Regarding WR Jordy Nelson and OLB Clay Matthews, both of whom are battling lingering hamstring problems and did not practice, McCarthy reverted to the company line.

“They’re getting better,” he said. “I don’t know if they’ll be ready this week.”

The news was the same for T.J. Lang, the converted left guard who moved to right tackle after Bryan Bulaga went on IR with a hip injury a few weeks ago. Lang hurt his ankle against Minnesota and had to leave the game, pressing undrafted rookie Don Barclay into emergency duty.

Lang didn’t practice Wednesday and, regarding the injury and potential return, McCarthy said, “I really don’t have a feeling one way or another. It’s not progressing the way he’d like.”

In keeping with the theme of pessimistic uncertainty, McCarthy said he didn’t really have any information on DE Mike Neal’s injured shoulder, but he didn’t feel good about what he did know.

“Just the circumstances around his injury, we probably won’t be able to get the information we need until tomorrow,” McCarthy said. “I don’t feel real good about what the medical staff told me about Mike, but we’ll be able to get more information tomorrow.”

Neal did not participate in practice, nor did Starks or DE C.J. Wilson (knee). LB Terrell Manning was limited with a shoulder injury.

Nevertheless, there was reason for some optimism regarding two important players in the Packers’ secondary. DB Charles Woodson (collarbone) and CB Sam Shields (ankle), who have been out nearly two months, both practiced on Wednesday, albeit in a limited capacity. McCarthy sounded encouraged by Woodson’s progress.

“Great to have Charles out there,” McCarthy said. “He’s getting close. He was able to do some of the competitive drills and worked throughout the team (drills). It’s a good start. We’ll obviously evaluate him as we go throughout the week.”

For his part, Shields was more than happy to declare himself “100-percent right now” in the locker room. “I’m ready to roll,” he said.

When McCarthy was asked about 37-year-old C Jeff Saturday being limited at practice with a foot injury, he took the opportunity to use the veteran as a microcosm for the team.

“Jeff’s sore, there’s no doubt,” McCarthy said. “It’s really this time of year. The fourth quarter of the season, no one feels good. There’s a lot of lingering injuries; we’ve had our dose of them. I feel confident Jeff will go Sunday.”

Another 37-year-old that is trying to power through his injury in time for Sunday is WR Donald Driver, who was also limited in practice on Wednesday. Driver revealed in the locker room that he has a broken thumb, though he said he wasn’t going to let it stop him from playing.

"I can't do anything about it,” he said. “One thing about it is it's not the worst that I've had. I can fight through anything, and I'll continue to fight through this one."

With a decimated roster filled with young, unproven players and a troupe of walking-wounded veterans, the Packers have had to cut practices short and reduce players’ workload. McCarthy said he can’t really downsize any further; everyone will just have to be smarter and more careful.

“We’re scaled back about as far as we can go,” McCarthy said. “We worked very light (Wednesday); there were only two team periods, that’s unusually light for us. We’re just being smart with our guys. We’re pushing the envelope on having 46 healthy (on game day), so you’ve got to lower the risk in practice because we do practice with a lot of tempo. We’re just being smart about it.”

Does this season remind McCarthy of 2010, when the Packers had 15 players on injured reserve and struggled to make the playoffs, only to then go on a magical run to the Super Bowl?

“I never want to look back to 2010, in-season; it’s nice to look back at the postseason,” he said. “I don’t have to look back; I know exactly what it feels like. You’re juggling balls and more than you have. It’s just about the investment you make in your younger players, and frankly it starts in the spring. We’ve got a lot of different guys playing two, three positions and we’re going to need them to perform Sunday night.”

Follow Packers reporter James Carlton on Twitter @CBSPackers.