If all goes well, the Indianapolis Colts are expected to activate quarterback Peyton Manning from the team’s physically unable to perform list. But it might be a while before he plays.

Manning, who has been sidelined since a July 14 surgical procedure to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee, saw limited light work in practice last week. If he is activated, the two-time National Football League Most Valuable Player will probably not play against the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night in the team’s final preseason game.

“We have a chance to get Peyton activated and out to practice. So we’ll see how that goes,” said coach Tony Dungy.

“I think we’ll ease him in and see how he practices and what he’s able to do. We’ll see from there.”

As for the Bengals game, Dungy said the short week — Indianapolis has only three days to prepare for Cincinnati — will most likely prevent Manning from getting on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“Probably not on the short week. And with everything else that’s going on, health-wise [with other Colts players], I don’t think so,” he said.

Dungy added that rookie tight end Tom Santi and wide receiver Roy Hall may also return to practice this week. Santi has also been on Indianapolis’s physically unable to perform list after having similar type of surgery as Manning in early July. Hall, meanwhile, has been nursing a strained hamstring for the past two weeks.

“That would be a big plus if we can get [Hall] going and get a week’s work in,” the Colts coach said.

Injury list

The bad news is that kick returner/cornerback T.J. Rushing (knee), center Jeff Saturday (knee) and backup quarterback Jim Sorgi (knee) could all wind up missing some playing time.

Rushing was hurt early in the first quarter of Sunday night’s 20-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In addition, Saturday left the Bills game in the third quarter and Sorgi was a pre-game scratch after battling a sore knee in practice last week. He was hurt in the Colts’ 16-9 win at Atlanta on Aug. 16, although the injury didn’t appear to be serious at the time.

All three underwent magnetic resonance imaging tests on Monday, but the results were not immediately known.

“I still don’t have a complete handle on [the injuries]. But neither T.J. Rushing or Jeff Saturday would be able to play this week. We’ll see what the long term look is a little bit later on. I have not spoken to the doctors on the MRI results. Again, we’ll probably have a little bit better idea [today],” Dungy said.

Weakside linebacker Freddy Keiaho and defensive tackle Ed Johnson were both sidelined for the Bills game. Keiaho was hurt in practice last week and was held out as a precautionary measure. Johnson, meanwhile, suffered a thigh injury during workouts last week.