Saints lose top corner McKenzie, hope for Bush, Colston to return

The coach said Reggie Bush might return after missing three games with a partial tear of his left posterior cruciate ligament, an injury that normally requires about a month of rehabilitation.

Payton said Bush was "pretty close" to playing against Philadelphia.

"The soreness was gone. He felt pretty comfortable," Payton said. "He's going to practice Wednesday and we'll see where we're at."

After their surprise run to the NFC Championship Game in Chicago nearly a year ago, Payton said the Saints have been very frustrated by their inconsistency and injury trouble this season.

They lost power running back Deuce McAllister to a season-ending injury in Week 3, then discovered Bush's injury on Dec. 6. Aaron Stecker, who went from third-string running back to starter, sprained a toe during the first half of the Philadelphia game, but came back in the second half. He's expected to be limited in practice this week, and with Branch going down, Payton said the Saints may need to sign another reserve running back for the Chicago game.

Yet, despite their disappointment with a season now on the brink of ending shy of the postseason, Saints players have taken comfort in the fact that they didn't fold after a dreadful 0-4 start and remained in the hunt until the final day of the season.

"There's always hope, but we're not worried about any equations or anything like that," quarterback Drew Brees said Sunday when asked about the Chicago game. "We've got pride and that's what we're playing for right now."