PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE LEAGUE : Reggie White Makes Miracle Recovery

In a change described as “nothing short of miraculous,” Reggie White returned to the practice field Thursday and showed the Green Bay Packers he doesn’t need season-ending hamstring surgery after all.

A day after the Packers said White, the NFL’s all-time sack leader, would be lost for the rest of the season and the playoffs, the team said next week’s surgery has been canceled--and he’s listed as questionable for Saturday’s game at New Orleans.

“The difference between Tuesday’s workout and [Thursday’s] is nothing short of miraculous,” said a statement from the team’s medical staff. “Reggie will be further evaluated pregame Saturday morning and a playing decision will be made at that time.”

White said he was at home playing with his children Wednesday evening when he noticed that as he ran, the hamstring felt better than it did Tuesday. He said he called strength and conditioning coach Kent Johnston and they went to the team’s training facility to test the leg, and it felt good.

That’s when they headed for Coach Mike Holmgren’s house, arriving about midnight.

“I was turning out the Christmas lights and he was there,” Holmgren said. “I thought it was Santa.”

White, an ordained minister, has credited his deep faith in God for helping heal football injuries like the knee sprain he sustained in a Nov. 5 game with Minnesota. The next week, he didn’t start but played much of the game with the Chicago Bears.

But this time, the team’s announcement Wednesday had seemed to settle the matter.

Then came Thursday’s news that White had passed all the tests on the function of the injured leg, resulting in the decision to cancel the surgery.

“It’s another situation where something miraculous happened,” White said. “I thank God for it. I can’t explain it. I can’t explain why my leg’s not hurting as bad as it was Tuesday.”

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With Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley taking the offensive against NFL teams seeking to move their franchises, the Bears say they have all but given up hope of staying in the city. The Bears’ chief negotiator for a new stadium says the team is now looking exclusively at northern Indiana for a new home. . . . Buoyed by the Dallas-Philadelphia game, Fox polled a single-game average rating of 16.7 with a 38 share for its highest Sunday Nielsen figure ever in the NFL. Fox’s previous average high was 15.4 on Nov. 12 for a slate of games that included the 49ers and Cowboys.