Ankle has been recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered during the team’s game against the New York Giants. Polamalu has been hampered by his injured calf seemingly all season. There was some hope that the dynamic safety would return for this weekend’s pivotal matchup with the Ravens, but he wasn’t able to practice yesterday.

Offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert (ankle) also missed practice Thursday, while cornerbacks Curtis Brown (quad) and Ike Taylor (illness) were able to return in full capacity after being limited Wednesday. The Steelers should have running back Rashard Mendenhall, who’s returning from an Achilles injury, and linebacker Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring) back Sunday night, as each player practice fully again.