After his shoulder injury Auburn TigersFollowing the loss against Vanderbilt two weeks ago, there was speculation that quarterback Payton Thorne would not be able to play against Louisiana-Monroe.

Thorne did not practice during the bye week, but performed well enough in practice this week to receive the green light. Jason Caldwell 247Sports He was among the first to report that Thorne would receive approval for the ULM play.

“I feel a lot better,” Thorne said Tuesday about his shoulder. “It’s much better than last week, I’ve had good treatment. Obviously I’m working every day to get this back to normal.”

Auburn having a bye week allowed Thorne to take time to recover rather than rushing to get back on the field.

“I’m just getting treatment in the training room, paying attention to what I do in the weight room,” Thorne said of what his recovery process is like. “Coach Dobbs is an absolutely amazing guy, so I totally trust him with what he has me do there. No pitching for me last week.”

Despite uncertainty regarding Thorne’s performance in practice earlier this week, the head coach Hugh Freeze He was confident Thorne would be ready to go on Wednesday.

“I haven’t progressed as far as I would have hoped with my shoulder,” Freeze said Wednesday of Thorne’s condition. “He thinks he’ll be fine, but he definitely wasn’t ready to play yesterday.”

This is welcome news for the Tigers, who are fighting for a chance to play in the bowl game this winter.

“I’m focused on doing everything I can to help us win and play the best I can and finish this the right way,” Thorne said. “Obviously it’s one week, one game.”

Thorne and the Tigers will open against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. SEC Network will carry the television broadcast.