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When Najee Harris injured his foot early in training camp, he missed about four weeks of practices and preseason games.

Harris left the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opener at Cincinnati late in the fourth quarter because of a foot injury and didn’t return.

Neither he nor coach Mike Tomlin expect the injury to be as serious. Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference that Harris didn’t aggravate the Lisfranc strain that sidelined him in the preseason, and the second-year running back said he will return Sunday against the New England Patriots.

“That’s the plan,” Harris said in an interview on SiriusXM radio. “The plan is I should be ready to play. It’s good we are off today, and I can let it heal for another day.”

Harris described the injury as “nothing too crazy” and said his foot got “dinged up.”

Tomlin said Harris will have to practice by Friday to suit up for the game.

“He’s a talented guy but a young guy, so I want to see some work from him,” Tomlin said. “We’ll go day by day and see where that leads us.”

The backup for the season opener was Jaylen Warren, an undrafted free agent who made his NFL debut. Warren carried three times for seven yards and played 23 snaps on offense and 11 more on special teams.

“He didn’t urinate down his leg. That’s a great place to begin,” Tomlin said. Related:

• Steelers coach Mike Tomlin optimistic T.J. Watt's injury isn't season-ending • Steelers brace to play on without injured star T.J. Watt

Despite being the only undrafted free agent to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, Warren has vaulted ahead of fourth-year back Benny Snell Jr. on the depth chart. He presumably would be the next running back to play if Harris has a setback with his foot injury.

“At no step in team development did he show that circumstances were too big for him,” Tomlin said. “He was competitive, and he’s being competitive. He was on Sunday, so good for him and good for us.”

Center Mason Cole returned to the Bengals game after sitting out four plays because of an ankle injury.

Tomlin, though, said Cole could miss practice time this week.

“We expect him to be available,” Tomlin said.

J.C. Hassenauer is the backup at center. He started three games last year, including the final two of the regular season. He also started the playoff loss at Cincinnati.

Tomlin indicated all other players injured against the Bengals are expected to practice this week. That would include cornerback Levi Wallace (ankle) and inside linebacker Robert Spillane (eye).

The ironmen of the 23-20 overtime victory could be found in the secondary. Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, strong safety Terrell Edmunds and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon each played all 100 snaps. Cornerback Cameron Sutton missed just one snap.

Fitzpatrick, Witherspoon and Sutton each had interceptions, with Fitzpatrick’s 31-yard return for a touchdown giving the Steelers a 17-0 lead.

“You don’t want to (play that many snaps),” Tomlin said, “but you better be prepared in case you have to. That’s why we have the creeds that we live by like physical conditioning precedes anything else, and that will be continually pouring into that component of readiness because from time to time you’ve got to do what they did.” More from Tim Benz:

• Tim Benz: Malik Reed's immediate promotion from 'welcomed addition' to 'scrutinized replacement' for T.J. Watt • Tim Benz: Amid confusing reports on T.J. Watt injury, 1 thing should be clear to Steelers fans • First Call: Joey Porter's new coaching job; a former Steelers linebacker questions 6-week return for T.J. Watt • CBS rules analyst says 2 crucial plays from Steelers-Bengals carry important NFL officiating lessons

Inside linebacker Devin Bush, who is in the final year of his contract after the team declined to exercise his fifth-year option in the spring, played half of the defensive snaps and contributed five tackles, including two solo.

Tomlin took exception when it was implied that Bush made a huge leap considering the struggles he had in 2021 when he was returning from an ACL tear.

“I wouldn’t call it a big step,” he said. “I imagine you guys would because that was the narrative you guys were singing, but he did what we expected him to do, which is play winning, varsity football.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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