AP

Running back Vick Ballard got the green light to participate in training camp this week, a little less than 11 months after he tore his ACL in the season opener last season.

Ballard’s return to work has taken a turn for the worse, however. Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star reports that Ballard was carted off the field during Friday’s practice.

Chappell and colleague Stephen Holder are both speculating that Ballard injured his ankle, with Holder reporting that Ballard wasn’t able to put any weight on his left foot.

We’ll wait for something more official from the Colts, but any extended absence for Ballard would put more pressure on Trent Richardson to live up to the price — a first-round pick — that the Colts paid to acquire him in a trade with the Browns last season. The Colts have expressed plenty of optimism that Richardson will do so, but having Ballard would make life much easier on Indy this season.