ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — After a gratifying bye week, Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins had a painful welcome back to work Wednesday.

Early in practice, while running one-on-none pass patterns, Watkins suffered a groin injury and was unable to finish the workout.

He was taken to the trainers’ room, was seen limping slightly in the locker room and was not allowed to speak to the press.

“It’s an injury; he didn’t finish practice,” coach Doug Marrone said. “I don’t know where he’s going to be tomorrow, I really don’t. He could play or he could be out two or three weeks. Who knows? It’s like Fred (Jackson), I don’t know.”

If Watkins can’t play against the Chiefs, the Bills would be severely hampered going against the league’s No. 1 pass defense.

“Obviously, he’s a really good player for us, so whenever you lose one of your top guys, that would be big,” center Eric Wood said.

The bad news Wednesday was in stark contrast to the previous week, While the Bills were on a bye last week, Watkins was named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the month for October, when he caught 21 passes for 393 yards and three touchdowns.

Watkins is the first Bills player ever to win the offensive award, though last year, linebacker Kiko Alonso won the defensive rookie of the month award in September. Watkins also learned that ESPN voters named him the top offensive rookie for the first half of the season.

On the plus side, to some degree, Bills running back Fred Jackson was able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday, the first time he has worked since suffering a groin injury on Oct. 19.

His status for Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs is very much up in the air, and part of the reason why he may not play is that the Bills have a game four days later in Miami.

“To play this weekend and come back and play four days later, I’m sure it’s something they will take into account,” Jackson said of the trainers and doctors. “That’s something they’ll think about all week. If it’s going to hinder me playing the rest of the season, that’s something they’ll tell me and I’ll have to deal with that. As a competitor, you want to be out there and play with your teammates. We have a good opportunity in front of us if we continue to take care of our business; we’re right in the thick of things.”

Marrone didn’t seem to be confident about Jackson’s chances of playing.

“It’s still limited, I’m not going out on a limb yet,” Marrone said. “Nothing Fred does ever surprises me or anyone else around here. We’re going to have to make a decision as it goes on.

“The thing is, it’s hard to tell because you’re not playing at 110 percent (in practice). You just have to watch them move, and have lots of communication with the doctors, trainers, coaches and the players.”