Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, who has not played yet this season because of an ankle injury, is not expected to play in Thursday night's game against the Miami Dolphins, a team source told ESPN's Bob Holtzman.

Eifert returned to practice last week and was listed as limited in Monday's workout. He has hinted on multiple occasions that he could return as early as Thursday, but the source told Holtzman that a Week 5 return is possible for Eifert.

Eifert has not completed a full practice yet this season and has not participated in any 11-on-11 drills during his limited work. He had offseason surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ankle and missed all of training camp and the preseason.

Coach Marvin Lewis said Tuesday that when Eifert does come back, he'll be limited to a small number of snaps to ease him back into shape.

"When we bring him back to play," Lewis said, "we don't expect him to be out there 65 snaps."

Eifert led the Bengals with 13 touchdown catches last season, and his return would be a huge boost for Cincinnati's receiving corps.

ESPN Bengals reporter Katherine Terrell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.