The Green Bay Packers have a good chance of getting a former All-Pro back on the field for their season-opening road game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.  

Left tackle David Bakhtiari, who has been rehabilitating from a serious knee injury since the end of the 2020 season, told ESPN Monday that he is ready to start in week one.  

"Yeah, I mean, I'm on the active (roster) just like anyone else," Bakhtiari said. 

The three-time Pro Bowl selection began the Packers’ offseason on the physically unable to perform list but has been a full participant in recent practices, including 11-on-11 workouts.  

Bakhtiari, 30, originally suffered a torn left ACL on Dec. 31, 2020, and has undergone three surgeries on the knee since.  

He returned briefly to the field in Week 18 last season, playing 27 snaps in Green Bay’s regular-season finale before experiencing complications and being shut down for the postseason.  

After 20 months of working to return to protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blindside, Bakhtiari believes he is ready to once again anchor the Packers’ offensive line.  

"I can get through the season," Bakhtiari said. "It's going to be fine. You have to just manage while playing. 

"I'm just getting back in the swing of things. So, I mean, I think there's normal rust and then new normal with three surgeries, so just kind of working that out and figuring out what my routine is." 

Green Bay’s second-most decorated offensive lineman, Elgton Jenkins, remains a question mark as he is working his way back from his own ACL surgery.  

Head coach Matt LaFleur was noncommittal on the possible return of Jenkins, a 2020 Pro Bowler.  

"We'll have to find out on Sunday," LaFleur said. 

Green Bay Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari barely played last season, and there’s no telling when he’ll be healthy enough to take the field this coming season after he had another procedure on his left knee.

The latest procedure would be at least the third known surgery since Bakhtiari suffered a torn left ACL on New Year’s Eve 2020.

Bakhtiari has played just one game since the original injury, and that came in the regular-season finale at Detroit on January 9 before he was shut down for the playoffs. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list Wednesday as the Packers opened training camp.

Bakhtiari attended the Packers’ offseason program but did not practice, and instead worked off to the side with the rest of the players rehabbing injuries.

''It's a nightmare, my nightmare that I have to live,'' Bakhtiari said. ''I don't know how many days it's been, but I'm just excited to wake up (from the nightmare) one day.''

The Packers remain hopeful that Bakhtiari will be ready for the season opener at Minnesota on September 11.

''I think we're cautiously optimistic,'' general manager Brian Gutekunst said.

Clearly, the Packers are going to take a cautious approach with Bakhtiari, who was playing well enough to earn first-team All-Pro honours for a second time when he originally hurt the knee. His first surgery came after the 2020 season, before the second procedure to reduce swelling in the knee during the 2021 regular season.

''Everyone loves timelines,'' Bakhtiari said. ''When I'm ready, I'll be out there. What I can say is I do feel really good. I really like –  I feel normal.

"My knee feels normal and that's the biggest plus. Now it's just getting that normal feeling again when I play football, so that's what it is, the load, stress, strength, but we're not really in an ACL issue. That's actually been a long time ago that we put that chapter to bed.''

With Bakhtiari unavailable for either of Green Bay's past two playoff losses, the Packers allowed five sacks in each of those games.

Green Bay faces the possibility of opening this season without its two best offensive linemen. Elgton Jenkins is also attempting to come back from an ACL tear he suffered on November 21 against Minnesota.

David Bakhtairi's hopes of being ready for the start of the 2022 season appear in jeopardy after he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list by the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers open their training camp on Wednesday as they prepare to make another push for a Super Bowl title after suffering more playoff disappointment last season.

But Bakhtiari will not be on the practice field as he continues a prolonged recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus damage suffered in December 2020.

Players added to the PUP list may be activated at any time before Week 1 but cannot practice before then. 

Five-time All-Pro Bakhtiari played in just one game in 2021, featuring for 27 snaps against the Detroit Lions in Week 18.

However, he was absent as the Packers suffered a 13-10 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs.

In 2020, Bakhtiari allowed a pressure rate of just 2.8 per cent, tied for the best in the NFL among left tackles with Andrew Whitworth, per Stats Perform data.

Should he be able unable to line up for the Packers' Week 1 clash with the Minnesota Vikings, Yosh Nijman – who started eight games in 2021 – would likely step into the breach