FOXBORO — Patriots defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga said Thursday he’s optimistic he will be available to play in this weekend’s divisional-round playoff game against Houston. Tonga has missed the team’s last three games with a foot injury.

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“(I’m) still meeting with trainers every day, but I feel good,” he said.

If Tonga plays, the Patriots would field a fully defensive front for the first time in two months, following the recent returns of defensive lineman Milton Williams and linebacker Robert Spillane. Together, they led the league’s best run defense for most of the regular season, a run defense that fell apart during the final weeks of the year.

Tonga is central to the Pats’ bigger personnel groupings, which should be called Sunday against a Texans team that plays with six offensive linemen more often than any other team in the league. The 6-foot-2, 335-pounder made eight starts in 14 game appearances this season. He recorded 24 tackles, two QB hits and a pair of pass deflections.

The Patriots have gone 3-0 in his absence, with regular-season blowouts of the Jets and Dolphins and last weekend’s Wild Card playoff win over the Chargers.

“It feels so good being around my teammates again,” Tonga said. “It sucked to watch them ball out and not be able to be there, but (it’s) so fun to be back in the groove and getting the hang of things again with them.”

Tonga was listed as a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, and took the field for the start of Thursday’s practice. The Patriots will release their next injury report Thursday evening.