Louis Delmas’ injured knee kept him out of OTAs and minicamp.

Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham expressed confidence in Delmas’ return on Wednesday. Thursday it was the same from coach Jim Schwartz.

“I have a lot of confidence. I mean, there’s no player I have more confidence in than Lou,’’ Schwartz said. “I’ve said so many times, he’s the heart and soul of our defense and he’s got an incredible amount of toughness. It took a lot of discipline from his standpoint, from him and from us, to sit this whole offseason out.’’

The coach said the main thing is to get his knee right. He expects Delmas at training camp and will schedule days off for him as preventive measure for his knee.

“(We’re) trying to be proactive with it, but where it is and everything else, we’ll just take it as it comes,’’ Schwartz said. “You know, we’re prepared either way. We’re prepared for Lou to be our leader on defense and to be out there for 16 games, but we’re certainly prepared for him not to be out there. Hopefully that won’t be the case ...’’

Last August Delmas underwent knee surgery and a quick return was expected. He missed the first four games and played in only eight all season. 

He tested the free agent market in March before re-signing with the Lions for two years.

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