GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Bryan Bulaga’s return might not be as far away as originally thought.

The Green Bay Packers starting right tackle could return to some football activity this week, less than three weeks after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. The original timeline for Bulaga’s return was four to six weeks after he was injured in practice on Sept. 17.

When asked Monday whether Bulaga could begin doing some drill work this week, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said, “I hope so.”

“I know Bryan feels he's getting stronger,” McCarthy said Monday evening. “We'll make a decision on Wednesday.”

If Bulaga were to practice, it likely would be only individual drills at first. If he got through that with no problems, then perhaps he could take part in some team drills. It remains unclear whether he could play Sunday against the St. Louis Rams and with only one more game remaining before the Week 7 bye, perhaps he might not play until the Nov. 1 game at Denver.

However, it’s a good sign that Bulaga might be ready to get back onto the field this week.

Bulaga’s replacement, Don Barclay, has held up OK considering he missed all of last season because of a knee injury, but he allowed all three sacks of Aaron Rodgers in Sunday’s 17-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers.