Bears coaches expect Dvoracek to come back again

Coach Lovie Smith had a hard time recalling a player who has had as much bad luck injury wise as nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek, whose suspected torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) was confirmed on Friday, ending his season.

The injury to the 6-foot-3, 303-pound nose tackle's right knee is the fourth season-ender he has suffered in four NFL seasons. Last year the former third-round draft pick out of Oklahoma started 12 games before a ruptured biceps landed him on injured reserve. He started the 2007 opener but suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. As a rookie, Dvoracek suffered a season-ending foot injury in the second preseason game.

"I haven't seen a lot of players go through that," Smith said, "but guys deal with injuries always. It's one thing to have injuries, and they continue to linger. But these are different things, and he's getting (different) things fixed. So once he comes back from this, he should be as good as ever. He should still have all of his options open.

"It's a tough break for Dusty. But he's been in this situation before, so he'll come back as strong as ever."

Opportunity knocks: The loss of nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek creates an opportunity for backup Matt Toeaina, who has played in four games for the Bears after being signed off the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad late in the 2007 season.

"I hate to see this happen to Dusty again, but I've definitely got to take advantage of the opportunity," said the 6-foot-2, 308-pound Toeaina. "I've just got to go out there and prove to the coaches that I'm capable of contributing to this team."

Toeaina had 2 tackles for negative yardage in his first NFL game, Dec. 17, 2007 against the Vikings but played in just one game last season while being a game-day inactive for the other 15 games.

"It's definitely tough mentally," the burly Samoan said. "The (toughest) thing is trying to stay patient and positive at the same time. Everybody has their time, and when your time (comes) you've got to take advantage of it. My opportunities have been limited, but like they say, 'You can't count your reps; you've got to make your reps count.' "

Anthony Adams and Marcus Harrison, the co-starters at nose tackle, will play into the third quarter, along with most of the other starters.

Injury update: Linebacker Nick Roach (concussion) was back at practice and should play Sunday.

Cornerback Zack Bowman and safety Danieal Manning increased their practice time all week but are still not expected to play. Tight end Desmond Clark (ill) did not practice Friday but should play. Defensive linemen Israel Idonije (hamstring) and rookie Henry Melton (ankle) also did not practice and are questionable. Linebacker Jamar Williams (foot) is still out.