METAIRIE - New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said running back Reggie Bush, who has missed the last three games after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, was further along than a week ago after he practiced Thursday.

Bush returned to practice Nov. 12 for the first time since having the knee scoped on Oct. 20, but missed the next two practices and Sunday’s game at Kansas City. Bush seemed optimistic, however, that he’ll be full go for Monday night’s key game with the Green Bay Packers and maybe even return punts.

“Yeah, it was my first full practice and it felt pretty good,” he said. “It was just kind of getting back into all the motions and the swing of things, but it felt good to finish a full practice.”

“He did pretty good, he was able to get through practice,” Payton said. “He’s further along than he was last week. We’ll see how he responds (today).

“We’re in the same mode (as last week) in regards to seeing how he handles all the cuts and things he has to do with his position,” he said. “Again, he was clearly further ahead today than he was last week.”

McAllister sits out

While Bush was back, running back Deuce McAllister was held out of practice Thursday by Payton after having fluid drained from his surgically-repaired left knee Wednesday.

“It was maintenance and just monitoring where he’s at,” said Payton, who noted it’s typical for McAllister to experience some swelling and then have it drained. “They drained it (Wednesday) and we wanted to rest him today and see if it could calm down some.”

McAllister said he’ll be ready for Monday’s game. He said he normally has fluid drained on an off day, but he was in New York on Tuesday to have his appeal heard by the NFL for testing positive for the diuretic Bumetanide.

Injury report

In addition to McAllister, fullback Mike Karney and cornerback Aaron Glenn did not participate in Thursday’s practice.

Karney (knee) and Glenn (ankle) were ruled out of Monday’s game on Wednesday by Payton. Center Jonathan Goodwin (knee), wide receiver Marques Colston (knee) and tackle Jon Stinchcomb (calf) were limited.

Packers middle linebacker Nick Barnett (knee) is out for Monday night.

New faces, new places

By the time they step on the field to play the Packers, it will have been 43 days since the last time the Saints played a game in the Superdome.

But that’s not the reason Payton wants to take his team over there practice at least once before Monday night. There are 11 players on the current 53-man roster who were not on the active roster when they played the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 12.

“We might go over there and practice this week, we’ve talked about that,” Payton said. “We’ve done it before. There are some new faces, and some guys have to get adjusted.”

Tops among them are kicker Garrett Hartley and punter Glenn Pakulak, who have never kicked in the Superdome before.

Brees leads voting

Saints quarterback Drew Brees not only leads the NFL with 3,251 passing yards, but he’s also out in front when it comes to voting among fans for the Pro Bowl game to be played Feb. 8 in Honolulu.

Brees, who is on pace to throw for 5,202 yards and break the single-season record of 5,084 yards by Dan Marino, has garnered the most votes by fans who have voted online at www.NFL.com.

Following Brees in the top 10 as of Tuesday were Clinton Portis, Brett Favre, Eli Manning, Chris Cooley, Santana Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Jay Cutler, Jason Campbell and Jason Witten.

Fans can vote until Dec. 9 at 11 a.m. CST. After players and coaches voting is added in, the AFC and NFC teams will be announced on Dec. 16.

Primetime stage

Bush, who’s played in a number of high-profile games during his college and pro career, was asked Thursday if he liked playing on Monday Night Football.

“Yeah, I mean, who doesn’t,” said Bush, who returned two punts for touchdowns in a MNF loss to Minnesota on Oct. 6. “Obviously, I love the atmosphere of the big-game hype situation. You can’t ask for a better scenario.”

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