Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was back practicing on Wednesday, one day shy of the team getting on a plane headed ‘across the pond’. Dolphins head coach Brian Flores could not confirm whether or not the second year NFL quarterback will be able to play for the first time in four games, after fracturing his ribs, but did indicate that Tagovailoa is doing everything he can to make the start this Sunday in London, and that will be the case if all goes well.

“One thing I will say,” said Flores. “He’s a tough kid.”

While Tua is trying to physically get back into game shape, backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett is dealing with a hamstring injury of his own. Flores says the assessment and decision making process on Tagovailoa has not been altered because the game is in London.

“It’s a longer flight but with his situation, it’s not,” said Flores. “This is really just let’s see how this goes at practice, can he make the throws, can he roll to his left, roll to his right, step up in the pocket. The one thing we won’t know is taking a hit. We won’t know that until the game but we’ll try to do as much as we can to get a feel for what that will look like or what that will feel like without having a setback obviously.”

“Tua’s a professional,” says Dolphins wide receiver Preston Williams. “When Tua gets back, he’s always working on his craft. Even when he’s injured, just how he stays in-tune with the team, watching film, being at practice, calling the plays up. .I felt good about him being back out there.”

While winning the game is the top priority in London for the 1-4 Dolphins, the players are looking forward to the trip, and playing in front what is a massive Dolphins fan base in England.

“I’m excited to go to London,” says Dolphins rookie safety Jevon Holland. “Never been in my life. I’m from another country so being in new places excites me, but I’m excited to just go out there and play really. It’s a completely different environment. New type of fans, so it’s a whole new experience.”

“It’s definitely exciting playing in a different country,” says Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.” I can’t wait to see the fans. I know we’ve got a lot of Dolphins fans out there so I can’t wait to go out there and play in front of them.”

Coach Flores is no stranger to coaching games overseas. His first coaching type gig was in Italy, and he’s worked in two NFL London games before as an assistant coach. As excited as he is to experience London as a NFL head coach, he emphasized on Wednesday that the focus would be on football, and that this was strictly a business trip.

Watch the Dolphins and Jaguars on Sunday morning at 9:30 AM on CBS 12. We’ll have Dolphins preview stories on Sunday’s CBS 12 News this morning. The NFL Today starts at 9 AM.