The Green Bay Packers might not be 100 percent ready for this week’s NFL game. The team will be missing their key right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who was sent home from practice due to illness.

According to ESPN, Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga was sent home for the second time due to some flu-like illness. That illness has reportedly prevented Bulaga from testing his injured ankle, which caused him to miss one crucial game against Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.

In a recent press conference, the Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed to the media that the flu-like illness has to keep Bulaga from playing the upcoming big game.

The head coach also explained to the public that Bulaga was sent home to avoid the spread of the contagious flu-like illness to the team. However, the head coach did not rule out Bulaga’s availability for Sunday’s big game. McCarthy also added that Packers would take the week to fully evaluate the big OT player, whether he can able to play or not.

Who is Bryan Bulaga and why the Packers need him

The 28-years-old Bryan Bulaga is an offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers. The 6-foot-5 inches and 314 pounds offensive tackle has made his college football debut, playing left a guard at Iowa.

During his college years, Bulaga made some impressive performance and had been named to Sporting News’ Freshman All-Big Ten team.

And then when he moved to left tackle and started to play that role in every game, Bulaga earned a Sophomore All-American selection by College Football News. He also earned a second team All-Big Ten selection by the NFL coaches.

The Green Bay Packers drafted the 28-year-old Bulaga in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. During his time with Packers, Bulaga has managed to win the prestigious Super Bowl XLV event with the Packers against the Pittsburg Steelers.

In addition to Bulaga, Packers might also miss another key player, David Bakhtiari, in the upcoming Sunday's Atlanta game.

As mentioned earlier by ESPN, the Green Bay Packers might have some trouble at tackle without the team’s key tackle players Bryan Bulaga or David Bakhtiari. The two have made a perfect offensive-tackle combination, which considered being the best in the league.

But the upcoming Sunday’s night NFC Championship Game at Atlanta, Georgia is no ordinary game. It requires something big, the best of both teams. Unfortunately, the Packers will have some big challenge here. They could be missing their key players.

At this time, it still unknown whether David Bakhtiari would be able to make it to Atlanta or not. ESPN has learned that Bakhtiari has made only a limited practice this week because of a hamstring injury he sustained during the team’s Sunday victory over Seattle Seahawks.

Amazingly, the 28-years-old Bulaga has managed to join in the team’s practice last week. But Bulaga was still held out of the real NFL action due to his flu-like illness.

Other NFL related news

In other NFL-related stories, the Green Bay Packers have reportedly reverted to their original in-season schedule after they test their new format, which led to the team’s opener against the Seahawks.

According to Packers website, the Green Bay team has decided to change back to its original timeslot after a suggestion from the team’s training staff. Green Bay has decided to return to their traditional in-season schedule after a thorough discussion with it veteran players. Head coach Mike McCarthy believes that the move would benefit the Green Bay Packers players, especially the younger one, the Packers said.