MUNICH, Germany — D.J. Wonnum hasn't played in a game in nearly 11 months.

And if you ask him, he's not only ready to play in one, but ready to play a lot of one.

The outside linebacker has been practicing for two weeks, and while they haven't activated him to the roster yet, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Friday that was a "possibility," because he's looked so good in practice.

If Canales needs any convincing, he needs to look no further than Wonnum himself.

"I feel good. I feel fast. I feel strong," Wonnum said. "I feel ready to go."

The Panthers could certainly use him. As they prepare for Sunday's game against the Giants, they're tied for 30th in the league with just 10.0 sacks this season, and veteran Charles Harris leads the team with 3.0.

Wonnum matched a career-high with 8.0 last year for Minnesota, and the 23.0 sacks in four seasons and his all-around game were the reason they made him a priority in free agency in March. But a complicated return from surgery to repair a torn quadriceps suffered last Christmas Eve has complicated those plans.

Wonnum was hoping to be back by camp, but an infection and eventual blood clots slowed his return, and he made the trip to Germany hoping to get a chance to play, and to contribute.

When a man's coming back from as much as Wonnum has, it's reasonable to think they'd keep him on some degree of a pitch count if he plays, but he just shook his head at the notion.

"I can play every snap," he said confidently, knowing that's not likely the case.

"I may try to tell them I want to play every snap, but we'll see," he said with a laugh. "I feel ready to go."

That kind of attitude is another part of the reason the Panthers went and got Wonnum this offseason, bringing the former South Carolina product back closer to home. They obviously need his pass-rush ability, and they saw last year how quickly he can impact a game when he scored a touchdown against the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

"DJ is a really, really good football player, and we obviously brought him in here because we had a lot of love for what he accomplished in Minnesota," defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said. "In terms of the human, we haven't seen him on the field, obviously, but this whole time we've been here, he's been here. I mean, he is meticulous in terms of his study and his preparation, and he knows our defense. And obviously, there's going to be an aspect of that, of getting back on his feet and doing it, live and in color.

"But, I mean, he's great in the meeting room. He obviously, he works his butt off in terms of the rehab and all of that stuff, he's locked and he's engaged, he's focused. I have a lot of respect and high praise for this guy. The way he's handled everything, he's kept working. Whenever he's available, he's going to help us."

That seems to be getting closer than ever, and the anticipation is building in him. He said when he practiced for the first time two weeks ago, he knew he had turned the corner, that his long rehab was about to pay off. For most of the last eight months, he's been doing more watching than participating, and he's clearly itching to do more.

"Yeah, it's about that time," Wonnum said with a grin.

But he's felt that way for months, when he was in meetings, and watching from the sidelines.

"Just being here, being around the guys and just studying and making sure I'm knowing what I'm doing because I know at some point that I'm going to be back on the field. So just standing down, locking in, learning to play. I'm in every meeting, coach asking me questions, just to make sure that I'm on my Ps and Qs.

"I know at some point that I'm going to be back out there and I know that when I, when I'm back out there, whenever I'm back out there that I want to be as close to game ready as possible. So it's really just staying locked in on my playbook and knowing that when my time comes, and it's going to be coming, they're going to count on me."

That day is coming, and he's going to be ready for as much as they'll give him when it does.