INDIANAPOLIS – He was the other injury from the Colts' victory over Denver last season.

Before Andrew Luck's season ended in that November win over the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Colts lost arguably their most indispensable defender.

Henry Anderson tore his ACL in the third quarter of the Colts' win over Denver.

With it, went a rookie playing well beyond his age.

"That one hurt," Chuck Pagano said when Anderson was lost for the season in early November. "He was playing really good football for us."

For Anderson, he knew what was on the horizon.

In high school, Anderson tore his ACL so he had previously experienced the strenuous rehab that lay ahead.

Anderson, who started nine games and had 35 tackles (28 solo) this past year, is now in the midst of that process and likes his current progress.

"I feel good," Anderson told Colts.com earlier this week.

"We haven't gotten into specific 'return to play' dates yet but everything is ahead of schedule so far. My knee feels awesome."

The goal for Anderson is to be ready for Week One, which would place his recovery period right around 10 months post ACL surgery.

When Anderson went down against Denver, his name was being thrown around as a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.

It took about a week before he got over the initial shock of seeing his rookie season come to an end so suddenly.

"I was pretty disappointed because I felt like I was improving throughout the year and some of the stuff that I wasn't doing at the beginning of the year I was getting better at as time went on," Anderson says.

"Once I had my surgery, I kind of flipped a switch and was ready to attack it. If you feel sorry for yourself you are going to go into rehab kind of sad and not really get much done. But if you go in with the goal that you're going to get better, you are eventually going to get better."

When the Colts begin Training Camp in July, Anderson will be the injury to watch.

His disruption as a 3-4 defensive end carried from the college game to the professional level.

While a specific return date for Anderson hasn't been discussed yet, he is ahead of schedule with a realistic goal of Week One the target.