EL SEGUNDO — At one point, the pain was so intense that Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa said he slept on an exercise ball he swept from the practice room at team headquarters. He said he curled up in the fetal position for hours because it was the only way to relieve the pain.

It had started with lower back pain that was manageable, but he said on Friday that he knew something was wrong the next day Chargers win over Carolina Panthers on September 15. He did his best to get through a week of practice while the team stayed in Charlotte, North Carolina.

But when he ran onto the field for the Chargers’ game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Sunday, he knew he was pushing his luck. Usually, he said, he would sprint onto the field from the locker room and try to outrun his teammates for pregame warmups. He could barely jog this time.

Bosa held one game before his left leg gave out and he had to leave the game for the sideline. The lower back pain moved to his left buttock and ultimately caused irritation along the sciatic nerve that runs from the back/hip area down the side of each leg. In Bosa’s case, it was his left leg.

The pain was excruciating, endless, and he was unable to perform rehabilitation exercises after the team’s return from Pittsburgh. He couldn’t sleep because the pain kept him up when he was in bed. The only cure for his sleepless nights was to drape himself over the large exercise ball and hope the sandman would come.

It’s been more than a month, but the healing process has finally taken hold and Bosa said Friday that he will play the Chargers’ game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. How much he will play is yet to be determined, but it is likely that he will have a limited number of snaps.

“I’m fine,” he said in his first public comments since being injured in the Sept. 22 game against Pittsburgh. “It’s been a tough, tough five weeks now, but I’m coming around. I had three really good days in a row. I took it easy (Friday). It’s been really interesting.

“I’ve been telling you (reporters) how good I’ve been and here I’ve been missing all these weeks, but it’s finally coming. I had two good practices. I think I’ll come through this week, this game, I think it will continue to stack (days) and I will continue to improve and hopefully get back to the shape I was in.

“I’ll definitely be out there (Sunday).”

He credited his family, his teammates and coaches, the athletic training staff and his therapist for lifting his spirits and doing what they could to aid his recovery both physically and mentally. He revealed that the strain of his injury was often difficult to bear emotionally, given his string of injuries in recent seasons.

Bosa played just nine games last season and five the 2022 season.