No matter how many injuries you have on your fantasy team, you can't be harder hit by the injury bug than the New Orleans Saints. Sure, the Seattle Seahawks have gone through six wide receivers, but at least they got Bobby Engram back. But the Saints have lost key players at almost position, including at wide receiver, and the list just got longer on Monday night. Rookie cornerback Tracy Porter suffered a dislocated wrist and had surgery Tuesday. He has been placed on injured reserve and is done for the season. Will the Saints have any good news this week? How about your fantasy team?

Let's take a look at how things are shaping up in preparation for Week 6.

Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Westbrook's availability for Sunday's game against the 49ers is still uncertain. We now know he has two fractured ribs on his right side. We also know, even if we've never had broken ribs, that this is a painful injury. (As a friend of mine says, "I don't have to travel to the North Pole to know it's cold.") Whether the pain will have subsided enough to allow Westbrook to perform is still unknown. Westbrook knows his body well and will not put himself in the lineup if he cannot contribute, as seen in Week 4 when he sat out with an ankle injury.

The other issue is where the fractures are and how significant the crack or break is in each rib. The ribs provide a protective cage around the lungs. One of the risks of playing a contact sport with a rib fracture is taking a hit that forces a splintered piece into a lung, which could lead to lung collapse. However, this a relatively rare occurrence, and not every rib poses such a risk, so whether this is a factor in Westbrook's case depends on where his injuries are, a detail that the team has not provided.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Westbrook was unable to sleep earlier in the week because of pain, a not uncommon side effect. However, Westbrook said that this episode was less painful than the rib fractures he suffered in 2004. (Incidentally, he missed a game as a result of that injury.) When healthy, Westbrook changes the Eagles' offense. He changes your fantasy team, too. Like the Eagles, be prepared to insert Correll Buckhalter into your lineup, as Westbrook will probably be limited, even if he does suit up.

Brian Griese, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Griese is apparently still suffering the ill effects of last Sunday's monster hit from Champ Bailey that left him with what was initially referred to as a bruised elbow. Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times noted that Jeff Garcia took all the reps in practice Wednesday morning and it appears as if he will start. There have been no other specifics given by the team as to the severity of Griese's injury, so we will watch to see when he returns to practice.

Marques Colston, WR, and Jeremy Shockey, TE, New Orleans Saints: Might the Saints have good news on the horizon? Perhaps, but the horizon is off in the distance. Colston is expected to be out of his cast this week, and then it will be a matter of getting both his range of motion and his strength back in his thumb before he can return. Remember, the thumb is critical for the wide receiver in terms of both catching the ball and controlling it. It is no small task to regain normal function after being in a cast. The joint gets very stiff, and the muscles atrophy and shorten. They don't just snap back to attention automatically when the cast comes off. According to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Colston would like to return when the Saints face the San Diego Chargers on Oct. 26 in London. Although that's not out of the question, consider that the Saints have a bye in Week 9. If Colston's readiness is at all questionable headed into Week 8, the team will wait.

Although Shockey's recovery from sports hernia surgery has reportedly gone well, the Times-Picayune reports that coach Sean Payton is still hinting at a Week 7 return date. It's possible he could be activated for this week's contest against the Oakland Raiders, but Shockey would have to practice with the team. Prior to this week, he has done only individual running on the side. As sports hernia surgeries go, this would still be an early return for Shockey, so the Oct. 19 date seems more likely. Nonetheless, keep an eye on the practice reports this week to see if his status changes.

Some other players to keep an eye on as the week progresses ...

Laurence Maroney did come back for the Patriots this past Sunday after missing Week 3 with a shoulder injury, but he didn't do much. There's no indication that it's an injury issue that's limiting him, and coach Bill Belichick consequently found himself coming to Maroney's defense. When prodded about Maroney's performance, Belichick told the Boston Herald, "I think he's a good back. He's played well, and I think he'll continue to play well." Not a lot of insight for fantasy owners, but you can't expect much from the notoriously evasive coach. Running backs Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris will remain in the mix for this week's contest against the San Diego Chargers. Lamont Jordan, who left Sunday's game with a leg injury, is questionable at this point, but we will see if he can get back to practice.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck underwent an MRI earlier in the week and according to the Seattle Times, tests confirmed coach Mike Holmgren's diagnosis of a "tweak" in his knee. I'm not sure what that means medically speaking, but I do know that the team expects Hasselbeck will practice this week, which means he escaped any serious injury. The news is not as good for receiver Deion Branch, who suffered a bruised heel. The Seahawks likely will be more conservative in Branch's case because this injury was on his "good" side, as in the side that did not undergo ACL reconstruction eight months ago. Compromised status of his nonsurgical leg could potentially put his surgical leg at more risk. The newly injured heel will be required to absorb impact on landing while not forcing him to overload the surgical knee. If his heel is too painful to permit that, don't be surprised if Branch is absent this weekend. More catches for Bobby Engram.

Oakland Raiders running back Justin Fargas returned to practice this week after missing time with a groin injury, making it look as if he will be ready to play Sunday. Meanwhile, teammate Darren McFadden did not practice and is still wearing a protective boot on his toe. The fact that he was not practicing following the bye suggests the toe is still bothering him, and with Fargas looking as though he will return, the Raiders may be more interested in protecting their rookie investment for the long haul. We have seen not only how hard it is for these turf toe injuries to heal, but how easy it is to suffer a setback. If McFadden can't perform well and is still having pain, why not hold him back? Much better to have him return when he can be productive. We've seen how limiting an injured big toe can be for a running back (ahem, LaDainian Tomlinson).

As usual, practice throughout the week will give us a better hint as to what the final status of these players will be heading into Week 6. Remember there are bye weeks for Buffalo, Tennessee, Kansas City and Pittsburgh, so we will not get much information on player injury updates for those teams until next week (but I do expect Willie Parker back next Sunday).

See you Friday at the injury chat and we'll have the latest injury updates affecting Week 6 in the Saturday morning blog!