AP

Jets cornerback Dee Milliner’s rookie year got off to a slow start because of offseason shoulder surgery and his health issues continued into the regular season as he missed three games because of hamstring troubles.

Milliner was able to bounce back from those issues and a couple of early-season trips to the bench to turn in some stronger play toward the end of the season, putting him in position to be the team’s lead corner this season. That won’t happen if Milliner can’t stay healthy, though, and his hamstring is giving him a hard time again. Milliner missed time last week and has been limited this week because of an injury that coach Rex Ryan believes is relatively minor.

“Hopefully he’ll be out there next week,” Ryan said, via the Newark Star-Ledger. “But he’s been progressing along pretty good. He did not have a pulled hamstring. It was just something that it was tight and we’re trying to prevent a hamstring pull for him.”

Milliner’s problems staying healthy last season make even a tight hamstring worth some concern, especially since his prospective cornerback partner Dimitri Patterson has an even longer history of missed time over the course of his career. The Jets are thin behind those two — Darrin Walls has filled in for Milliner — and their hopes for a successful season remain contingent on strong work on the defensive side of the ball.