In the last few months, Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt has been on a steady path toward a full recovery from a tibial plateau fracture in his left leg that suffered last season.

There has been more encouraging news as Chris Mortensen of ESPN is reporting that Watt has passed his latest conditioning test and is in line to be back on the field to start the 2018 season.

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Watt had missed a significant chunk of last season due to the injury that marked the second straight campaign where has missed 24 games in the last two years combined. He had missed 13 games in 2016 due to a pair of surgeries to repair a herniated disc, which the level of frustration was only compounded by his numerous injuries troubles this past year.

That said, Watt appears to be on the right track to getting back on the field to proving that he is still one of the best defensive players in the league. These injuries have presented serious questions about whether the 29-year-old can recapture his form that made him a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year that saw him become the first player to post two campaigns with at least 20.0 sacks. He is a game-changing talent that has been the unquestioned anchor of the Texans defensive front when healthy.

There is plenty of motivation ahead for Watt to prove that he can return to being the dominant force he was in his first five years in the league that put him the fast track to being a sure-fire Hall of Famer. This latest development is another major step forward for him to be back in the fold toward once again being the primary factor defensively for the Texans to help them break through to reaching the playoff next season.