INDIANAPOLIS -- Now Peyton Manning can start fine-tuning the mechanics, timing and rhythm.
Just don't expect him to try it in Thursday night's preseason game against Cincinnati.
Coach Tony Dungy increased the two-time league MVP's workload Wednesday, one day after he finally returned to practice and showed no lingering effects from the knee surgery that kept him out for the past six weeks.
"We didn't have him in team work (Tuesday), but he did fine and hasn't experienced any problems," Dungy said. "So far, so good. He'll get a little more work today."
Manning, who has never missed a start in his 10-season NFL career, had surgery July 14 to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee.
Team officials initially said their franchise quarterback would miss four to six weeks, and all along Dungy, team president Bill Polian and others contended Manning was on schedule amid speculation he might miss more time. That didn't end the questions about Manning being hurt worse than first feared, nor did it end the speculation about whether he would keep his streak of 160 consecutive starts intact Sept. 7 against Chicago.
Things changed Tuesday when Manning returned to practice one day after the six-week anniversary of surgery. Indy did not practice Monday.
Manning threw passes with velocity and moved around on his legs Tuesday, but as with most injured players, the real test came Wednesday morning when Manning returned to the team complex.
The result: No soreness, which prompted Dungy to gradually increase Manning's workload.
"We've been telling you guys that he's been doing a lot of things, and we have a pretty extensive workout before we let guys get back on the field," Dungy said. "They go through a routine on the side and do some individual work, and it's like a decathlon. So when we clear guys to come back, I usually don't worry about how they're going to be."
Manning, like most of the team's starters, will not play Thursday even though the Colts' quarterback situation is precariously thin.
Longtime backup Jim Sorgi missed another practice Wednesday although Dungy said the swelling in his knee has started to subside.
Without Manning and Sorgi, the Colts have only two other quarterbacks -- veterans Jared Lorenzen and Quinn Gray, who were signed last month and are fighting for the No. 3 job. The Colts have traditionally kept only two quarterbacks because of Manning's durability. He's missed only one play in 10 NFL seasons because of injury.
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