Aldon Smith returns to limited practice

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Cowboys pass rusher Aldon Smith returned to a limited practice Thursday.

Smith injured his neck in Monday’s loss to the Cardinals and did not practice Wednesday.

“Aldon jammed his neck in the game,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s going to start in a limited basis today, and we’ll see how it goes. But I don’t really expect it to be an issue.”

Smith had four sacks in the first three games. He has none in the past three.

Cowboys left tackle Brandon Knight, who underwent knee surgery Tuesday, will miss a couple of games. That means the Cowboys will start their third left tackle in seven games.

They hope right guard Zack Martin can play.

Martin remains out of practice and in concussion protocol.

“Zack, as he advances through the protocol, he’ll be in the conditioning phase, but I don’t have an update on how far along he is there,” McCarthy said.