He’s so close he can almost taste it.

Defensive back Tunde Adeleke is back on the field practicing at McMahon after missing five weeks of football following a lower-body injury suffered during practice in Week 3.

Overcoming an injury is a process for any athlete, but now another test begins for Adeleke as he looks to work his way back into the lineup.

“I’ve been doing more and more each week, I did everything today,” he said at practice Wednesday. “The team has been playing great so I’d like to get back in there and help them win games.

“We’ve been working through it, going week-by-week. It’s feeling a lot better, I’m back on the field, and I feel good.

“We’ll see how it goes the rest of the week, and see how the coaches feel.”

Former teammate Joshua Bell is now the man calling the shots in the secondary.

“We practice with a certain tempo, but I’m all about how he’s going to look in the game, and how he’s going to look on day two of practice,” said the defensive back boss. “I’m not even evaluating him (yet). Scheme-wise, he knows what to do – it’s just knocking the rust off by getting a lot of reps.”

It shouldn’t take long to get back in the groove for Adeleke, who earned himself a starting position when the season began.

“It was a big year coming in,” Adeleke explained. “They told me I’d probably be starting, but there would be some pre-season battles for the positions. Eventually I was able to win those battles, and coming into Week 1 I knew I had to fight to keep the position.

“I played it 100 percent, and coach Bell is always pushing me to be better. I had a good two games, and haven’t played since then so I’m excited to get back on the field.”

After an impressive rookie campaign, Adeleke tallied seven tackles, one sack, and a forced fumble in just two games this season.

“He looked good (at the start of the season), I was excited about it,” Bell explained. “He was doing exactly what we expected him to do, come in and make plays, a natural ability to take over. His speed was there and he looked like he should look as a second-year player in our system.”

Given those attributes, Adeleke isn’t the only one eager to get himself back on the field.

“Tunde and (Adam) Berger are some of the most versatile guys we have in our secondary,” Bell said. “Without those guys we’re still a strong unit, but it makes us weaker because we don’t have the versatility all around.”

The Stampeders look to remain undefeated when they take on the Roughriders at 5 p.m. Sunday in Regina.

“Right now we’re 7-0 and everyone is playing great, but it kind of sucks to watch them win without you,” Adeleke said. “It’s always hard watching the guys go out and battle every week without me, knowing I could help the team do more.”