Leonhard's leg is healing well

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Jim Leonhard's broken right tibia is healing nicely.

Three weeks removed from surgery, the safety already has had the splint taken off his leg, allowing him to slowly begin the lengthy rehab process.

"It's coming back quick," Leonhard said yesterday. "Hopefully, the bone is healing the way it's supposed to. I have a doctor's appointment in 2 1/2 weeks. It feels really good right now. I'm very happy with what the doctors did, and now with the trainers taking over the rehab process, I am very happy with where it's at."

Leonhard, injured in practice Dec. 10 when he collided with wide receiver Patrick Turner, said the break was clean and that the doctors gave him a rough timetable of three to four months until he's 100 percent. He hopes to be able to participate in a portion of the Jets' offseason program.

"Obviously, there are a lot of variables that go along with that," he said. "There will be a lot of ups and downs over the next couple of months, but everything looks promising right now. We're very happy with the surgery and how everything looks. Right now it's all about the bone healing, and depending on when that happens, you can be more or less aggressive off of that.''

As for when he's going to start walking on his right leg again without any support, Leonhard said it depends on what the doctors see during his next visit.

"They said once the bone is healed, they'll get a lot more aggressive as far as putting weight on it and things like that," Leonhard said. "That's kind of the biggest thing, is seeing that X-ray and making sure the bone is 100 percent healed and going from there."

Holmes returns

A day after sitting out practice with turf toe, wideout Santonio Holmes was back, although he was limited. Holmes got banged up in Sunday's win over the Steelers, but Rex Ryan is confident he will be ready to face the Bears on Sunday.

"I think he'll be fine," Ryan said. "He looked great when he was in there, but he had that toe [injury]. I expect him to play."