Adam Vingan

USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee

Predators captain Shea Weber, who has been sidelined by a lower-body injury for the past three games, fully practiced Monday, adding afterward that he feels "good."

Weber's succinctness was expected, but he participated in Monday's practice without any apparent limitations. His status for Tuesday's game against the Stars is uncertain, but it's an encouraging development nonetheless.

"Once a player goes through a process and they get back and they start taking practice, that's always a positive sign that things are moving in the right direction," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.

Weber hadn't missed any games this season before sitting out Nashville's wins against Toronto on Tuesday, Chicago on Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday. With 19 games remaining before a potential playoff appearance, Weber knows that he has to be smart in handling his recovery.

"That's the fine line you want to walk," he said. "Obviously, it's a desperate time right now. It's been a desperate time for a while. You don't want to leave your teammates hanging, but at the same time, you don't want to do something where you're going to be out a month later on in the season. Take care of it now and hopefully squash it before it really gets started."

Predators' Filip Forsberg nets second hat trick in 3 games

Asked if the Predators' recent success could allow them to be more patient with Weber's injury, Laviolette dismissed that particular notion.

"We're not going to put anybody at risk here," Laviolette said. "When players come back, they're cleared to come back. We're not in any rush. Our first priority is to have Shea healthy. When that time comes, he'll be back in the lineup. We won't keep him out extra once he's ready to play. Once you're cleared and once you've gone through a routine in practice and you're cleared to play and you're healthy, you'll go back in the lineup. We need Shea. We miss him. We will not put him in a situation where he's coming back early."

Reach Adam Vingan on Twitter @AdamVingan.