FOXBOROUGH — Thursday was a good day for the Patriots on the injury front, as cornerback Christian Gonzalez shed the red, noncontact jersey he wore Wednesday in the wake of the head injury he suffered in Sunday’s wild-card win over the Chargers.

Overall, the Patriots had perfect attendance for the workout. That included defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, who practiced without issue for the second consecutive day, and sounded optimistic about his availability for Sunday’s divisional-round game against the Texans.

“I’m getting better every day,” Tonga said before practice. “Still meeting with trainers every day, but I feel good.”

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The veteran was slowed by a foot injury that sidelined him for the last two games of the regular season and the first playoff game.

“It feels so good being around my teammates again, and it sucked to watch them ball out and not being able to be there,” Tonga said. “But it’s so fun to be back in the groove and getting to hang with them again.”

New England has not had its full defensive roster healthy since tackle Milton Williams went down with an ankle injury early in the Nov. 13 win over the Jets. The return of Tonga, joining Williams and linebacker Robert Spillane, would give the run defense a boost.

“That’s big,” Tonga said. “I think either way, the defense was playing well, [but] just having them all back together and everybody in the same group again, I know it’s going to be big.”

Williams sat for a stretch near the end of the regular season with an ankle injury. After his return, he stated that sitting and watching games was “garbage.” Tonga echoed those sentiments.

“Oh my gosh, the worst,” he said. “But I’m glad to be back.”

Texans’ Collins still out

The Texans were without standout wide receiver Nico Collins at practice for the second consecutive day, as he remains in concussion protocol.

Collins was injured in the third quarter of Monday night’s 30-6 win over the Steelers. After he was unable to haul in a pass from C.J. Stroud, Collins fell face-first to the turf. He was carted to the locker room, then diagnosed with a concussion.

Collins finished the regular season with 71 catches for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns.

Strength vs. strength

Several members of the Patriots’ offense have spent the bulk of the week acknowledging the Texans’ defense, which is at or near the top of the NFL in most major categories.

“They have length, they have speed, they have power. I think the thing nobody talks enough about is the effort they play with. That’s elite,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said.

“We’re going to have to match the effort and play to the whistle on every play, because they make a lot of plays because they play harder than you do. They play longer than you do. We’ve seen that. It’s clear to see on any Texans game.”

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But wide receiver Kayshon Boutte wants to remind people that the Patriots’ offense isn’t so bad.

“Obviously, [the Texans have] a good unit. No. 1-ranked defense. Whatever you want to say. But I mean, we’re a good offense, too,” Boutte said. “We’re not going to discredit ourselves. Just keep doing the same things we’ve been doing.”

Boutte was asked if this is one of the toughest defenses he’s prepared for in the NFL.

“I wouldn’t say one of the toughest. At the end of the day, we know we’re going to get man coverage,” he said. “We’ve got to beat it. It’s that simple.”