Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson missed time during voluntary workouts this spring with what was described as a back strain, but Johnson says the injury was actually a bit more serious.
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports that Johnson said Thursday that the injury was actually a fractured L-5 vertebra. Johnson said he suffered the injury while doing a power-rope exercise for a video on the Bills website about his workout regimen. The video was meant as a response to criticism Johnson received about comments he made about only playing basketball and running to prepare for a season.
“It got to the point where, ‘It’s got to be something more than a strain or something’ because every time I sit down it’s hurting,” Johnson said. “Every time I stand up it’s hurting. I lay down, it’s hurting. I went through rehab and it wasn’t helping. So I got the MRI, and it was a slight fracture.”
Johnson is back on the field now after tweaking his ankle in an early attempt to get on the field after the fracture, which has been treated with a cortisone shot and epidural. The receiver hasn’t missed a game since the 2009 season and was able to resume practicing this spring, so he should be fine for training camp and the season as long as the Bills don’t have any more video ideas kicking around.