Taysom Hill suffered rib ‘fractures’ in Saints loss; two defensive stars practice

If the New Orleans Saints are going to get Taysom Hill back for this week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the all-purpose weapon will have to play through a painful injury.

Hill was one of several players not present at Thursday’s practice after he left the Saints’ Week 4 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the first half. Saints coach Dennis Allen said Thursday that Hill suffered “fractures” to his ribs during the game.

When Allen was asked if injured reserve was a possibility for Hill, the third-year head coach said, “I don’t know that.”

Hill has now suffered two separate chest injuries in the span of three weeks. He reportedly sustained a bruised lung in the Saints’ Week 2 win against Dallas, which required a trip to the hospital. After missing a Week 3 loss against Philadelphia, Hill scored two touchdowns against the Falcons before sustaining his new injury. Allen said Thursday the injuries were unrelated.

Joining Hill as non-participants in Thursday’s practice were linebacker Willie Gay (hand), defensive end Payton Turner (knee), kicker Blake Grupe (right hip) and offensive linemen Cesar Ruiz (knee) and Shane Lemieux (ankle).

Gay started last week in place of the injured Demario Davis, but only played a few defensive snaps before he left the game with injury. He posted a photo of himself this week that appeared to show him in a hospital after surgery on his injury.

In positive news, linebacker Demario Davis returned to practice after missing last week’s loss with a hamstring injury — the first game he missed because of injury in his 13 professional seasons. Safety Tyrann Mathieu also practiced after missing most of the second half last week with a groin injury.