The Vikings lost center Pat Elflein to an ankle injury during the NFC Championship Game and the injury will require him to recover from surgery this offseason.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said at a Tuesday press conference that Elflein will have surgery, but didn’t offer any other details about his recovery.
Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press reports that Elflein fractured his ankle and that the surgery will be done by Dr. Robert Anderson in Green Bay. The belief is that Elflein will be ready for the offseason program as long as all goes well with his rehab work.
Elflein was a third-round pick last year and moved right into the starting lineup as part of an improved Vikings offensive line. When asked about that line’s improvement on 2016 on Tuesday, Zimmer said he thought the difference was the presence of better players.