Wolfe says he’ll be ready by Broncos opener, ankle 75-80 percent

Defensive end Derek Wolfe told “The Drive” not only is his ankle 75 to 80 percent healed but he’ll be good to go for the Denver Broncos regular season opener on Sept. 11.

Wolfe said he put on cleats for the first time since being carted off the practice field on Aug. 12 with a badly sprained right ankle.

However, later in the day, Wolfe relieved the worst fears of Broncos fans by tweeting a photo of his ankle, swollen but not badly injured, along with: “Appreciate the love. Dodged a bullet.”

Wolfe has been sidelined since the mid-camp injury, but said he’s been putting in “four or five hours a day of work” to get back to full strength.

On Monday, head coach Vance Joseph said that Wolfe and fellow defensive lineman Jared Crick were “doing better” in recovering from injury. Crick’s been sidelined since roughly the same time with back spasms.

“Wolfe made a lot of progress last week. Before he was kind of so-so, but he made a lot of progress. He’s out of the boot. He’s walking in normal shoes,” Joseph said, adding both players should be back for Week 1.

Wolfe said he did some hill runs, get-offs, and 50-yard runs on Wednesday.

“I’ve been putting in four or five hours a day of work,” Wolfe said.

In the end, Wolfe said the sprain is nothing compared to his injury past.

“I had a bruised spinal cord. I was paralyzed, having seizures. So, this is nothing. I can beat this, no problem,” Wolfe said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.