National Football League

Lions star Johnson 'definitely' expects to play vs. Dolphins

Published Oct. 29, 2014 8:11 a.m. ET

foxsports

Detroit Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson "definitely" expects to play against the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 9 after the Lions' bye week.

"Definitely expect to play," said Johnson, who has missed the past three games with a high ankle sprain. "Looking forward to the game, playing some old teammates. So that makes it all that much better."

Johnson, who was speaking at the Courage House dinner in which he was being honored, initially suffered the injury against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3 then aggravated it on his only catch against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. Johnson, who is in the midst of his longest absence in his NFL career, has practiced very little since the Bills game.

"Every year it's going to be a point in time when you have to battle through some injuries and this year it came early," he said. "So it's just another thing to battle through. It's not really frustrating anymore because we can definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel. Things are getting better. We've just got to try to stay focused and keep concentrating on getting that thing right."