GREEN BAY — On guard with a delicate injury situation across their offensive line was not what the Green Bay Packers wanted coming out of the bye week.

That’s precisely where they stood with time running out before they resume play. Green Bay (5-3), which trails NFC North leader Detroit by a game at the midway point of the season, is in jeopardy of not having the dependable guard tandem of Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang for the rematch with the rival Chicago Bears on Sunday night.

“It’s a blow,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Those guys are very talented. They’re having great seasons, Pro Bowl (worthy) seasons.”

The pulled hamstring Rodgers suffered on his scramble early in the second half of Green Bay’s pre-bye, 44-23 loss at the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 26 pales in comparison to the significant injuries sustained by Lang and Sitton in that game.

Lang already was a big question mark at the start of this week when the players reconvened after having six days off. The right guard had to be carted back to the locker room after Green Bay’s game-opening touchdown drive against the Saints with an injury to his left ankle that kept him from returning to action.

Lang remained out Wednesday.

As did Sitton, whose torn ligament in his left big toe didn’t come to light publicly until after practice. The left guard said the injury occurred when he was pass blocking during the second half of the last game. He managed to continue playing until nearly the end of the game.

“It hurt,” Sitton recalled Wednesday. “But, once you’re out there and you’re going, you fight through it.”

Although a visit to a foot specialist raised Sitton’s spirits since he won’t need surgery, he can’t be certain he will make a speedy recovery by Sunday to extend his streak of 47 starts (including the playoffs). Sitton hasn’t missed a game since he was out for two straight in December 2011 because of a knee injury.

Sitton said the plan is to test the toe Thursday while trying out different pairs of shoes, which could include an orthotic in the left one. He may not be able to practice until Saturday, if at all, with Green Bay off the field Friday.

Lang would seem to be in greater danger of not playing Sunday at Lambeau Field as the Packers look to complete the regular-season sweep of the Bears (3-5). Green Bay went into Soldier Field on Sept. 28 and crushed Chicago 38-17.

“It’s next man up,” Rodgers said about the cloudy outlook at guard. “No one’s going to feel sorry for you or wait around for you. You have to step up and be a professional and be ready to play. That’s what being a backup is all about. It’s about preparing each week as if you’re going to play because at times you have to step in and you have to pick up the slack.

“There’s no excuses in this league. The film doesn’t lie, and we’re expecting those guys to be ready to play.”

With Rodgers a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and pronouncing himself good to go for Sunday, he worked behind a line that included two potential first-time starters with second-year players Lane Taylor and JC Tretter. Taylor was at right guard for Lang, and Tretter manned left guard for Sitton.

The Packers activated Tretter to the 53-man roster Monday after he spent the first half of the season on injured reserve/designated to return. Tretter, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason that cost him the chance to open the season as the starting center, has yet to play in a regular-season game as a pro.

Meanwhile, Mike McCarthy appeared to be trying to light a fire under Taylor with some critical comments the head coach made in his post-practice news conference Wednesday. Taylor replaced the injured Lang against the Saints and endured a hit-and-miss outing in his first extensive action as a pro.

“Lane Taylor, he needs to perform better. He knows that,” McCarthy said. “New Orleans was not his best night. He was given a big opportunity. I thought pass protection-wise, he did some really good things. I actually was impressed with what he did in pass protection. But, the run part of it, he will improve on, and he’ll learn from it. He’s a young player.

“An opportunity for Lane to play in the big lights and the big games like that, the big stage, which a number of our younger guys did that night down in New Orleans, was something that we can all learn from. Lane will be much better prepared for his next opportunity.”

Fortunately for Green Bay’s defense, which faces an immense challenge after giving up season highs of 496 total yards and 235 rushing yards in the first meeting with the Bears, its health outlook is much brighter.

The Packers expect to have cornerback Sam Shields, safety Morgan Burnett and end Datone Jones available Sunday after all three starters missed the game at New Orleans. Shields and Jones had been out multiple weeks with knee and ankle injuries, respectively.