CHAPEL HILL – Help could be on the way for North Carolina’s defense.

Kaimon Rucker, perhaps the Tar Heels’ best player on that side of the ball, could be back in action Saturday when UNC hosts unbeaten Pittsburgh at Kenan Stadium.

Rucker has missed the last four games after injuring his knee when lifting weights two days before the Tar Heels faced Charlotte. He had the knee scoped, a source very close to the situation said, and was hoping to be back for the Duke game. But that wasn’t the case.

Now, UNC is monitoring him this week, and if the medical staff gives the go-ahead for Rucker to practice this week, he likely will play against the Panthers.

“We haven’t gotten the full report yet, so we’ll see in the morning,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said Monday during his weekly press conference. “He was running with the trainers yesterday and looked really good.”

Rucker played 54 snaps in the win at Minnesota to open the season, and has logged 2,186 in his career. The fifth-year defensive end/outside linebacker has 153 tackles, 33 TFLs, 17 sacks, and has forced four fumbles.

The 6-foot-2, 265-pounder from Hart County High School in Hartwell, GA, was second-team All-ACC last season registering 61 tackles, 15 of which were TFLs, including 8.5 sacks. He racked up 41 pressures, ranking him seventh nationally in that department.

So, UNC getting that kind of production back, especially after the last two weeks in which the Tar Heels lost 70-50 to James Madison and 21-20 at Duke after owning a 20-0 lead midway through the third quarter.

“We probably won’t know until pre-game very honestly because they will watch him all week,” Brown said. “And if he doesn’t practice, we can’t play him. That’s not fair to him or the other players. But if he gets in Wednesday’s practice, we have to decide if Thursday’s enough because you’re not in pads. So, we’ll just watch it during the week.”

In his place, redshirt freshmen Tyler Thompson and Jaybron Harvey have filled in with mixed results. UNC moved defensive lineman Jacolbe Cowan into the role for the Duke game, and he plays a career-high 53 snaps with some occasional positive results.

It’s no secret Rucker can change UNC’s defense if he’s at full health.

“I think we all know Kaimon’s a great player,” defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said Monday. “Just excited that he’s healthy and hopefully he’s ready to roll. I think the respect that he’s earned, obviously within this locker room, with our fanbase and with opponents, they know the impact that he can have. I’m just excited for whenever he gets back to help us.”

Ultimately, the decision is up to the medical staff, Brown says.

“That’s totally on them. The trainers tell us he can do this in practice, this is limited…

“We have no input.”

UNC (3-2, 0-1 ACC) and Pitt (4-0, 0-0) kickoff at noon Saturday and the game will air on ESPN2.