Alshon Jeffery’s injury is a mystery wrapped in Bears’ nonsense

The only thing that matters is if Alshon Jeffery is on the field when the Bears open the season Sept. 13 against the Packers. If you say that enough times, you might retain your sanity.

But if you’re a Bears fan, you should be worried about the lack of information from the team about Jeffery’s injury. If there ever has been another “mild calf strain’’ cloaked in this much secrecy, it likely involved a CIA agent.

And maybe this would be no big deal in a vacuum. Another NFL team being paranoid about giving out information – so what? But the Bears hemmed and hawed and obfuscated about Kevin White’s shin injury in training camp before announcing that their 2015 first-round draft pick needed surgery and might miss the season.

In Jeffery’s case, we have been reduced to scanning the sidelines during preseason games, hoping for a sighting. He didn’t make the trip to Cincinnati for the third preseason contest, even though the Bears had said he would. There he was before Thursday’s game against the Browns, catching passes but not running routes. What did it mean? Your guess is as good as anybody else’s.

Coach John Fox continues to say his top receiver is “day to day,’’ which obviously means nothing because Jeffery hasn’t finished a practice since Aug. 11.

Fox’s tight lips lead me to believe there is nothing mild about Jeffery’s calf strain. But even if that is the case, what’s the point of turning it into a mystery? That the Packers will be confused in the opener?

Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to work.