For Malcolm Kelly, the clock is ticking.

Kelly, sidelined with a hamstring injury since the second day of training camp, is expected top be full-go in practice this week.

Kelly is also scheduled to get significant playing time in this Thursday's preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

It is his last chance to impress the new Redskins coaching staff in a game situation.

"The hamstring has started to feel a whole lot better," Kelly said. "They were giving me a little bit more rest. I ran some routes [last week] and I was able to run them full speed. You just have to see how it is when you get out there and make sure it holds up."

Said head coach Mike Shanahan: "Hopefully there won't be a setback there, but he feels like he can go full speed. He has made some cuts."

Kelly, a second-round draft pick (51st overall) by the Redskins in 2008, is part of a crowded wide receiver corps heading into the final week of preseason.

During training camp, as other receivers would begin drills, Kelly would head to the sidelines to work with the athletic trainer on rehabbing his hamstring.

It has been a frustrating summer for Kelly.

"Especially with a hamstring injury, it has been frustrating," he said. "With a hamstring, you feel good and then you make a cut and you [discover] it's not exactly where it needs to be. I think I've timed it right this time and tomorrow will be the first true practice."

Kelly is on the roster bubble – and he knows it, too.

He could be competing with Roydell Williams and rookie Terrence Austin to be the fifth or sixth wide receiver on the roster.

"You want to be out there on the field to so coaches can evaluate you," Kelly said. "That's the big thing [Shanahan] has been harping on. It's the last preseason game and there'll be a lot of plays and a lot of time to get a good evaluation."

In his two-year NFL career, Kelly has started 9-of-21 games and caught 28 passes for 365 yards.