Darren McFadden Injury: Updates on Cowboys Star's Hamstring and Return

Darren McFadden had missed all of training camp after dealing with a hamstring injury that forced the running back on to the physically unable to perform list.

McFadden has since been activated and will look to fill the gap left behind by DeMarco Murray's departure.

Continue for updates.

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McFadden Close to Return to Action

Friday, Aug. 21

Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News reported Jerry Jones expects McFadden to play Sunday vs. the 49ers.

"McFadden hit that thing for the first time up in there and showed some real stuff, and he sure showed some real burst in a couple of drills where they weren't just full tackling," said Jones after practice on Aug. 18, per NFL.com's Chris Wesseling. "Boy, if we can keep him out there, he'll tear their you know what up."

On Aug. 5, George passed along comments from McFadden as he looked to increase his workload:

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“I went out there and did a couple of good runs for a few days and I’m feeling good, didn’t get sore or anything,” McFadden said. “I did a little straight-line running and a little cutting, so I got a good feel for it. It’s one of those things where the trainers want to make sure I can put a couple of days back to back before they throw me back out there. I’m just looking forward to getting back out there on the field. No soreness or swelling the next day, so definitely a good sign for me.”

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McFadden confirmed this is a new injury that happened a week prior to training camp while working out, according to Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News. Despite the setback, McFadden remained confident, per Machota: "No doubt that the burst is still there. I don't feel like I've lost a step at all."

McFadden is no stranger to injury problems. Last year marked the first time he played in all 16 regular-season games, and that can at least be partially attributed to a smaller workload. He averaged fewer than 10 carries per game as Latavius Murray moved into a more prominent role for the Oakland Raiders.

After joining Dallas back in March, the 27-year-old veteran will want to get back on the field as soon as possible. He's set to battle Lance Dunbar for playing time behind Joseph Randle. It's important for him to showcase more burst after averaging below 3.5 yards per carry in each of the last three seasons.

That's difficult to do with a lingering hamstring problem, though. So it makes sense for McFadden to give the injury a little extra time to heal before jumping back into practices.