The New England Patriots selected former Georgia RB Sony Michel with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he hasn’t been able to play much this preseason due to an injury.

As Michel rehabs his injured knee, he continues to work hard in the film room, drawing the praise of New England RB coach Ivan Fears.

Recently, Fears told NESN.com that he’s been thrilled with what Michel has done this offseason:

“I’m very happy with him,” Fears said. “He’s a very hard-working kid. He’s very conscious of what he has to get done, and he gets after it. He’s been great.

“(He’s been) just what we expected. He was progressing well. I was really happy when we got the pads on and I got to see him run a little bit. It looks like he’s going to be what we expected him to be. Unfortunately, we didn’t get too long into it before he got hurt, but I expect him to come back ready to go.”

Michel will rejoin a loaded backfield that includes guys like Jeremy Hill, Rex Burkhead, Mike Gillislee, James White and others, though a couple of those guys are likely to be cut when the rosters are trimmed to 53 at the end of the preseason.

When Michel returns is still anyone’s guess, but it seems he’ll have a role when he does get back on the field.