The Minnesota Vikings say Adrian Peterson will have surgery to repair his torn ACL in seven to ten days, and that the team’s goal is a recovery time of eight or nine months, which would put him on pace to start Week One of the 2012 season.
“We are going to hold the goal to have him ready for the first game,” Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman said, in comments distributed by the team. “The goal is around 8-9 months, around 8 months is going to probably be our first game. So we do think the potential is to have him ready for the beginning portion of next season, so that is going to be our goal.”
Peterson, who has not yet chosen a surgeon, is now on injured reserve and was replaced on the roster by Caleb King, who was elevated from the practice squad.
Sugarman said he’s optimistic that Peterson will prove to heal faster than most athletes who suffer similar injuries.
“I really don’t want to compare Adrian to any other athlete I have worked with or any other athlete that has played in the NFL that has had an ACL injury, because Adrian is a unique individual and we are just going to take him and his protocol step by step and see how he attacks it and has success,” Sugarman said.
If Peterson is in the starting lineup when the season starts in early September, that would have to be considered a success for the Vikings.