When he is available, it’s somewhat unusual not to see wide receiver Jordy Nelson atop the list of the Green Bay Packers when it comes to its leading pass-catchers. We are five games into the 2017 season and the 10-year pro ranks just fourth on the club with 19 receptions. He trails co-leaders Davante Adams and Randall Cobb (23), as well as tight end Martellus Bennet (20). Still, teammate and starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers has already thrown 13 touchdown passes and nearly half of those (6) have gone to Nelson. It is safe to say that the sure-handed wideout knows his way to the end zone.

But do we know for certain that he will be in uniform this Sunday afternoon at Minneapolis when Mike McCarthy’s team squares off against the 3-2 Minnesota Vikings?

Last week’s late absence

Last Sunday, Rodgers drove the Green Bay Packers 75 yards in nine plays in 1:02. The play culminated with a 12-yards TD pass to Adams with 11 seconds remaining. It proved to be the difference in the team’s thrilling 35-31 win over the defending NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. But Nelson was not a part of those late heroics. So what does that mean in terms of Sunday’s game with the rival Purple Gang? “I’m good,” said Nelson to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky after the contest. “We got a little banged up, but we’ll be good.”

The “we” is Nelson, whose injury late last Sunday was shrouded in a bit of misery.

Now via Rotoworld, it was apparently some sort of back issue. And it appears that he’s all set to face Mike Zimner’s team this weekend. In fact, the productive performer was taken off the Packers’ injury list on Friday. And that means Rodgers will have his full complement of targets against the league’s seventh-ranked defense in terms of total yards allowed per game.

Nelson’s full impact

Dating back to the start of last season, Nelson has been nothing short of sensational. The 2016 NFL Comeback of the Year, who missed all of 2015 due to a preseason knee injury, has reached the end zone 20 times in his last 21 regular-season contests. A year ago, he led the club the Green Bay Packers with 97 catches, good for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He scored at least once in 11 of those 16 outings. This season, he’s totaled at least one touchdown in four of the club’s five games. Nelson, Rodgers and McCarthy’s passing attack hopes to thrive in Minnesota on Sunday as the Packers look for their fourth straight win after splitting their first two contests in 2017.