Rookie safety Terrence Kiel, still recovering from three gunshot wounds suffered in a would-be carjacking last Friday, is expected to travel to San Diego later this week for evaluation by the Chargers' medical staff, and the club still believes he can be ready for the beginning of training camp.

Kiel, the Chargers' second-round draft choice (62nd overall selection), was released from the Ben Taub Hospital in Houston on Sunday. Agent Jeff Nalley said Tuesday that preliminary plans are for Kiel to fly to San Diego on Friday, but that he is awaiting final clearance from doctors before Kiel can travel.

After speaking to Kiel's doctors by phone Monday, general manager A.J. Smith said the safety should be fine "in a couple of weeks." San Diego rookies are scheduled to report to camp on July 22 and the full squad is due in on July 25.

"It's pretty miraculous," Nalley said. "I went to visit him Saturday and, driving over to the hospital, I was thinking of all kinds of (scenarios). But if he hadn't pulled the sheets back to reveal the wounds, you would never have known he was hurt, and he wasn't even on any kind of pain medication. He was actually up and walking around. Terrence knows just how lucky he is, believe me."

Nalley said that the perpetrator fired 10 rounds into Kiel's 1983 Buick Park Avenue, with three striking the former Texas A&M standout as he scrambled to move from behind the steering wheel to the passenger's side of the car.

Kiel, who is expected to vie for the starting strong safety job, was wounded in the calf, the knee and the abdomen. The calf and knee injuries were flesh wounds. There is still a bullet in his abdomen. Kiel underwent minor surgery while in the hospital and further treatment, if necessary, probably won't be determined until the Chargers' examination.

At the Chargers' most recent minicamp held last month, Kiel worked with the first-unit defense at strong safety, and coach Marty Schottenheimer indicated then that there was a viable chance that the rookie could win the starting job.

San Diego ranked last in the league statistically in pass defense in 2002 and the Chargers are undertaking a wholesale overhaul of their secondary. The Chargers used each of their first three picks in this year's draft, and four of their eight overall selections, on defensive backs. Their first-round pick a year ago was cornerback Quentin Jammer.

The team released longtime star strong safety Rodney Harrison early in the offseason and that left second-year veteran Vernon Fox, who has logged just three career starts, as the only experienced player at the position.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.