GREEN BAY – The answer seemed to take forever to pass through Derek Sherrod’s lips, and the time it took the Green Bay Packers’ 2011 first-round draft pick to find the words said more than anything.

The injured offensive tackle had just been asked Monday whether he was frustrated by how long it has taken him to be cleared for football after the gruesome broken leg he suffered last Dec. 18 at Kansas City – an injury that kept him from practicing in training camp and landed him on the physically unable to perform list to start the season.

“Um, ah, well, just, well, um, well, pretty much I’m just, um, keeping my head up about, you know, pretty much this whole thing,” Sherrod replied, doing his best to sound positive. “You know, any injury can be tough ... It’s just how you handle yourself. … This is the path that I, you know, have to go through, so I’m just keeping my head up about things and working really hard.”

Being put on the PUP list means Sherrod won’t be able to practice or play until at least after Week 6. At that time, the Packers will have to decide when to activate him to start practicing, then will have a three-week window to move him to the 53-man roster, place him on season-ending injured reserve or release him.

Having to go without Sherrod left the Packers with just seven offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, the fewest the team has kept coming out of camp since at least when Ron Wolf and Mike Holmgren took over in 1992.

Although he won’t be able to practice, Sherrod indicated he can do some football-related drill work as part of his rehabilitation in hopes of not being too rusty when he’s finally cleared.

“(I’m) just following the training staff’s regimen, trusting them and working my butt off so I can push myself and get back out there as soon as possible,” Sherrod said. “It’s just like riding a bike pretty much. It’s very rare for a football player to go his whole career without injuries. And, and, you just go out there and work on the natural things that has gotten you to this point in time.”