Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu, who missed the last two games because of a knee injury, will start against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night in the AFC wild-card game.

Polamalu was able to practice all week and he was listed as probable on the Steelers’ final injury report.

Coach Mike Tomlin did not commit to the eight-time Pro Bowler starting until late in the week.

“I needed to see him prepare,” Tomlin told the team’s website. “Sometimes a guy is able to play at the 11th hour and they don’t get the in-helmet preparation over the course of the work week. When you get to January football and the stakes are high, detail is going to define you. Not only him but us, and you need that in-helmet preparation to do it. He was able to practice this week, and so that made the decision easier.”

The Steelers will be without running back Le’Veon Bell, who was ruled out against the Ravens because of a hyperextended right knee.

Bell, who got hurt in the 27-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday night, did not practice all week. Bell is the AFC’s rushing champ with 1,361 yards on the ground, second only in the NFL to Dallas’ DeMarco Murray (1,845). Bell also caught 83 passes for 854 yards.

Rookie Josh Harris will start in place of Bell. The Steelers signed fourth-year veteran Ben Tate as running back insurance Tuesday. Dri Archer can play a role out of the backfield on passing downs and Tate also could see action.