The Chargers will close out training camp Thursday, two days earlier than originally scheduled, enabling players to go home before two exhibition games in a span of five days next week.

“I told them after the game that this is a big week for us,” said coach Norv Turner, whose squad hosts Seattle on Monday and travels to San Francisco for an Aug. 29 exhibition.

“We're not going to be able to do much between Monday and Friday's game. We're going to work some on Carolina (the regular-season opener) and there are things we need to get ourselves ready for.”

Even though they work out at the Murphy Canyon complex that serves as their year-round home, the Chargers maintain a camplike system as far as team living arrangements and twice-daily workouts.

“Camp ending is just the beginning of the next step,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “You can't have the mind-set that, 'Oh, camp's over,' because all that means is that something bigger and more challenging is ahead. It never really ends, we hope, until February or so.”

Cromartie healing

Declaring his tender ankle no longer a problem, cornerback Antonio Cromartie is back at work, but wearing a small cover over his right hand to protect the stitches from last week's removal of a cyst on his right wrist.

“I've had it since high school,” Cromartie said of the growth. “The more contact I got, the more it got irritated and it got bigger. I'm not going to have any contact with it for a while. I don't want to re-open the wound.”

Turner said that since Cromartie's “tender” ankle likely wouldn't have allowed him to play Saturday, it was decided that he stay behind for the procedure on his wrist.

Cromartie will be able to play Monday, Turner said.

More injuries

Although Turner had indicated that the Chargers were “going to be careful” with a knee bruise sustained by Darren Sproles in St. Louis, the running back/return man was zipping all over the practice field yesterday afternoon. But the other player knocked out of commission Saturday night, offensive lineman Scott Mruczkowski, estimated that he'd be wearing the boot on his left foot for a while to shield his aggravated plantar fascia.

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Staff writer Kevin Acee contributed to this report.

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Chris Jenkins: (619) 293-1267; chris.jenkins@uniontrib.com