Ryan Torain (broken hand) participated in Redskins practice on Saturday. Torain will now likely be active for Washington's preseason finale on Thursday against the Bucs. In his absence, Roy Helu and Tim Hightower have combined to run for 343 yards on 70 carries through Washington's first three preseason games. Unless Torain turns in a monster two weeks of practice heading into the regular season, he's likely to find himself No. 3 on the depth chart.

Ryan Torain (broken hand) is hoping to be cleared for the preseason finale in two weeks. Torain still hasn't been cleared for full-contact work nearly three weeks after sustaining the injury. In the meantime, Tim Hightower has run away with the starting job while rookie Roy Helu has impressed as a change-of-pace complement. Torain's early-season role is up in the air at this point.

Ryan Torain (broken hand) has been ruled out for the Redskins' second preseason game. It will be another audition for Tim Hightower and rookies Roy Helu, Evan Royster, and Shaun Draughn. Torain is quickly morphing into an undraftable fantasy commodity. He'll need to close camp strong to secure the No. 2 tailback job.

Ryan Torain (broken hand) has been cleared to take handoffs in running back drills. That's the good news. The bad news is that Torain still can't participate in full contact practices. In the two weeks that the notoriously slow-healing Torain has been sidelined, Tim Hightower has taken a clear lead in the Redskins backfield. At this point, we're shying away from Torain altogether.

Ryan Torain (broken hand) will see a specialist on Tuesday. We suspect Torain is visiting with the specialist in an effort to get final clearance. He was only expected to miss 7-10 days after undergoing surgery on August 4. Torain is going to need a strong and healthy showing over the next couple weeks to fight off Tim Hightower for the starting running back job.

Redskins RB Ryan Torain (hand) remains without a return date to practice. Torain was supposed to miss only 7-to-10 days after undergoing surgery on his broken hand on August 4, but is living up to his reputation as one of the game's slowest healers. In his absence, Tim Hightower has all but locked down the Redskins' starting job. Torain's goal when he returns should be to hold off rookie Roy Helu.

Ryan Torain underwent surgery Thursday that involved four screws being placed into his broken left hand. The injury was diagnosed as a fractured third metacarpal. Torain's timetable for return is projected at 7-10 days, but he is one of the slower healers in football. Meantime, Tim Hightower and Roy Helu are getting first-team reps.

The Redskins have sent RB Ryan Torain to see a hand specialist after suffering an injury early in Wednesday's practice. The Skins hope Torain would miss no more than a couple of weeks if his hand is fractured. He's not believed to be in danger of missing the season opener, but a fracture would allow Roy Helu and Tim Hightower a chance to make headway on the depth chart.

Ryan Torain left Wednesday's practice with a hand injury and is headed for X-rays. We don't usually note little nicks from camp, but this is a good reminder on the frail nature of Torain. Even coach Mike Shanahan sounds skeptical that his starting running back can stay healthy. Torain has appeared in just 12 games since breaking into the league back in 2008.

Ryan Torain has been running with the starters at Redskins workouts, as expected. After running for 742 yards on 164 carries (4.5 yards-per-carry) a year ago, Torain gets the nod. But even coach Mike Shanahan noted Torain's inability to stay healthy and said, "Ryan has some competition." Rookie Roy Helu will eventually get mixed in and newly acquired Tim Hightower has been pegged for the third-down role.