Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher missed his sixth consecutive practice today for for the second straight day the club chalked it up to “personal reasons.”

Urlacher has been sidelined with a sore left knee and everyone in camp is mum about where he is. Coach Lovie Smith talked around the possibility Urlacher could have arthroscopic surgery on the knee on Sunday. Urlacher will not play in the preseason opener Thursday night at Soldier Field against the Denver Broncos, and he has not practiced since July 31. The soonest he could return to the practice field because of the team’s schedule this week is Saturday.

“I know a lot of you are asking about Brian Urlacher,” Smith said after practice at Olivet Nazarene University. “He's been excused again for personal reasons. Brian will be our mike linebacker and all kinds of other things out there.”

The Bears remain confident Urlacher will be ready for the start of the season. It is unusual for a player to miss essentially a week with an injury and then be excused for personal reasons. When he is not in training camp, he isn’t working with the team’s medical staff to get better.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune