[Arky]

Schaub says he’s ‘good to go’

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub returned to practice Thursday and later insisted he definitely would be ready to start against the New York Jets despite having spent Tuesday night and all day Wednesday in the hospital receiving treatment for bursitis in his right knee.

“There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll be playing Sunday,” Schaub said. “It feels good. It felt good to get out there to practice and get ready to go.”

Schaub took “about half” his normal reps during the workout, coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’s feeling a lot better. ... We’ve got to make sure Dan (Orlovsky) is ready to go and getting good work, but everything looks OK (with Schaub).”

Schaub admitted his short hospital stay, the purpose of which was to get him off the leg for an extended period of time, had him “going stir-crazy. But they got a (play)book over to me and practice film” so he wasn’t completely out of the loop.

Kubiak said Schaub will start against the Jets “unless there are setbacks.” He predicted today’s final on-field tune-up would offer a clearer picture of how his quarterback was coming around.

Although Schaub admitted the knee has been “bothering him for the duration of the season” and that “it flared up on Tuesday, a little out of the ordinary” following the Jacksonville game, he insisted he wouldn’t be limited in any way against the Jets.

“I’m good to go,” he said.

That’s imperative, given how ferociously the Jets attack opposing quarterbacks.

“They’re one of the top defenses,” Schaub said. “They show a lot of different looks and bring a lot of different (kinds of) pressure. You’ve got to be on top of your stuff and not give them extra opportunities, especially playing in their place.”

Added Kubiak: “Matt can look at a game plan and go play. But against (the Jets), you want to see as much as you can because of how aggressive they are. You could practice for the next year and not cover everything they do on defense.”

Schaub insisted he wasn’t hurt in Jacksonville and that “coming in to work out Monday, it was fine.”

Schaub, who became the Texans’ starting quarterback in 2007, last missed a game in 2008, when he sprained his left knee at Minnesota. He said his bursitis, a condition caused by an inflammation of the bursae (fluid-filled sacs in the knee), won’t require postseason surgery.