Defensive tackle Lional Dalton was lining up at guard on the scout-team offense. Will Svitek was hobbling around with a knee brace. And starting left tackle Kyle Turley strapped on a helmet for the first time in weeks Thursday morning, stretched his aching back, then was hit with the reality that he’s not ready to play Sunday when the Chiefs visit Arizona.

“It’s not like we’re in dire straits,” said Chris Bober, who could be called on to fill in anywhere from left tackle to right guard this weekend. “Guys get hurt all the time. It’s a violent game. We’re just probably catching up to be normal like everybody else.”

There has been nothing normal about the Chiefs’ first month of the season. Ironman quarterback Trent Green was knocked out in the season opener – his return is still uncertain – and Turley’s back flared up during the bye week. Turley became the starting left tackle during training camp, when future Hall of Famer Willie Roaf decided his hamstring problems wouldn’t allow him to play anymore.

Then running back Michael Bennett has been out because of hamstring problems, and cornerback Benny Sapp can’t play because of a knee injury. The Chiefs are so battered that coach Herm Edwards plans to activate a handful of younger players this weekend because he’s running out of able bodies.

“Basically, we don’t have enough guys left,” Edwards said. “Generally, we dress 22 defensive players, and I don’t think we have 22 available at this point.”

“I don’t know what the numbers are yet – we’ll wait until the end of the week. But then it comes down to special teams. When you lose guys like that, it affects your special teams. Who’s the gunner? Who’s the R3? We’ve got to figure out who those guys are.”

Within the span of a few minutes at the end of Wednesday’s practice, both Svitek and linebacker Rich Scanlon were injured. Edwards said both are ruled out for Sunday, and Svitek is expected to miss three weeks because of a medial collateral ligament strain.