Vikings Lose Adrian Peterson to Foot Sprain
December 9, 2013
Adrian PetersonThe Vikings lost a wild game to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, but their biggest concern has to be the health of running back Adrian Peterson, who left the game after suffering what appeared to be a painful ankle injury.

“I was trying to get the first down,” Peterson said of the play. “After [the tackle], I didn’t know what happened to the football. I was more worried about my ankle.”

You can see video of the play below.

Adrian Peterson Injury@Baltimore##WATCH LIVE 12/08/2013 [HD]

As Peterson is tackled, his right foot gets caught at an awkward angle. The defender trying to make the tackle ends up putting all his weight on Peterson’s lower half, which is a recipe for disaster when combined with an ankle at an unstable angle.

Peterson was taken to the locker room on a cart. X-rays on the foot came back negative, but he’ll undergo an MRI on Monday afternoon to see if there is any underlying ligament damage.

Although he appeared to be in a lot of pain immediately after suffering the injury, Peterson believes we haven’t seen the last of him on the field this season.

“I’m just going to get the MRI done tomorrow, see what it says, and try to push to be ready to play.”

Dr. Silverman comments
Peterson may very well have suffered a Lisfranc injury. The picture displayed on the bottom of this page is eerily similar to what happened on the play Peterson. It is a classic injury that has been documented for decades.

When a person suffers a Lisfranc injury, the toes hyper-dorsiflex while the ankle locks as it continues to bend forward. The energy becomes focused on the midfoot (arch) and depending on whether the foot is twisting in or out at the time, certain fractures or dislocation patterns emerge.

That said, X-rays have the ability to reveal the presence of a Lisfranc injury. Since nothing was found, Peterson might have escaped the nasty Lisfranc injury, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods yet. We should know more after the MRI results are made public, but it’s clear the former NFL MVP suffered some sort of midfoot injury. What type of injury, whether it will need surgery, and how long he will be out is still uncertain.

Based on my experience, if the midfoot injury is severe, Peterson’s best bet is to undergo a routine operation to address and stabilize the midfoot. That type of surgery would keep him off the field for about three months, but it would make him less likely to suffer a similar injury in the future.

I understand that Peterson wants to come back and finish out the season, but he needs to balance the risk with the reward. The Vikings are out of playoff contention, and the team has the best chance to win when he is healthy and on the field. We haven’t even mentioned that he came into the game with a groin injury and is less than two years removed from tearing the ACL in his left leg. Peterson is clearly one of the best running backs in football, but he needs to step away for the final three games to make sure he is as healthy as possible for next season. Why should the Vikings expose him to three more games of tackles when they don’t need to?

I hope the injury is nothing more than a sprain, but for the sake of his health I hope this is the last we’ve seen of Peterson this season. This guy is too special to have his career derailed by injury. Do the smart thing AP.

Related source: ESPN