HOUSTON -- Houston running back Arian Foster returned to practice Wednesday after missing the season opener because of a left hamstring injury.

Coach Gary Kubiak said Foster took the normal repetitions for a starter in the workout.

Arian Foster, who spent Week 1 inactive with a lingering hamstring injury, took a starter's share of the reps at practice Wednesday. AP Photo/Eric Gay

"I guess the key probably is how he comes out of practice (Thursday)," Kubiak said. "Does he feel good? But everything was positive today at practice, so we'll see."

Kubiak was encouraged by how Foster looked in his return Wednesday.

"I think it's about him getting his confidence back and just cutting it loose," he said. "I just told him to be smart today, but he's on top of his stuff."

Foster was happy to get back on the field after dealing with the injury for so long.

"It felt good," he said. "It was pretty fluid, but you've got to ease along hamstring injuries, so I'm just going to take it day by day and see how I feel."

Foster, who ran for 1,616 yards last season to lead the league, has been bothered with the injury for a month. He believes the time off has helped, but he wasn't prepared to say he'd definitely be ready to play Sunday.

"That's the plan, but you never know with hamstring injuries," he said. "They're tricky man, sometimes they sneak up on you."

Foster's teammates were excited to have him back.

"Arian is a big part of our offense and it would be great to have him out there," Andre Johnson said. "He looked good today on the carries that he got, so hopefully as the week goes on he'll keep getting better and we can have him out there on Sunday."