Finally, New England Patriots rookie running back Sony Michel has made his way back to the team’s practice on Monday, according to Mark Reiss of ESPN.

Progress on the injury front for the Patriots: Rookie RB Sony Michel makes his first appearance on the practice field since Aug. 1. Starting right tackle Marcus Cannon also was on hand.

As pointed out by Reiss, it was Michel’s first practice since tweaking his knee earlier this month. Michel needed to go under the knife for a minor clean-up procedure to repair the injury. The original timetable for his return had him missing the entire preseason and perhaps even the first weeks of the regular season.

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That may still be the case for the former Georgia Bulldog, as his appearance on Monday’s team practice does not necessarily mean that he’s 100 percent healthy, though, it’s still an encouraging sight for the Patriots, who are hoping the first-year tailback will ultimately be given the green light for Week 1 of the regular season.

For now, New England seems to be leaning more on starting veteran running back Rex Burkhead as their starter when the team takes on the Houston Texans at home on Sep. 9 for the season opener.

The Patriots invested a round-one pick on Sony Michel in hopes that he will give the team’s ground game an additional shot in the arm after finishing 15th last season with 113.1 rushing yards per contest.