DeAndre Hopkins Injury: Updates on Texans Star's Knee and Return

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was dealing with a knee injury ahead of his team's AFC Divisional Round game against the New England Patriots on Saturday. However, he has been cleared to return.

Continue for updates.

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Hopkins Active vs. Patriots

Saturday, Jan. 14

The Texans announced Hopkins will play against the Patriots.

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Latest on Hopkins' Practice Status

Friday, Jan. 13

Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reported Hopkins was limited in Friday's practice. 

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Hopkins Crucial to Texans' Playoff Hopes  

Facing time without the team's most talented receiver would have been a terrible blow for the Texans.

During the regular season, Hopkins recorded just 78 catches for 954 yards and four touchdowns, which was a noticeable drop from his monster 2015 season. However, a lot of it had to do with the inconsistency of quarterback Brock Osweiler, who was benched during Weeks 15 and 16.

But when Tom Savage suffered a concussion, Houston was forced to go back to Osweiler for its AFC Wild Card Round game against the Oakland Raiders, which the Texans managed to win.

Hopkins staked his claim as an elite receiver last year, when he produced consistently despite Houston's quarterback carousel that saw three different starters under center. He had at least five receptions in every game en route to a career-high 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Former backup quarterback T.J. Yates put it best when speaking with ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli in November 2015: "When all else fails, throw it up to Hop."

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.