Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier happy with RB Adrian Peterson's recovery
Questions about the health of star running back, Adrian Peterson, and his readyness to take part in the first game of the new season followed Minnesota Vikings head coach, Leslie Frazier, even in Afghanistan of all places.
Frazier who is currently on the NFL-USO Coaches tour to Afghanistan has been meeting and spending time with the troops.
The head coach has found many Vikings fans among the serving men and women and faced a number of questions regarding Peterson’s recovery from a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury.
Frazier has been forthcoming with the troops about the running back’s health and told
USA Today by telephone on Tuesday that Peterson was recovering well when he left for Afghanistan.
He said:
"He was looking good when we left,"
He added further:
"He's right on course with what the doctors and trainers have asked him to do. We'll rely on what the doctors and trainers tell me and what we see as to when to put him back in uniform and get him involved."
Peterson is the face of the Vikings franchise and without him the Vikings offence struggles to make big game-winning plays.
Even with his struggles with injury last year Peterson remained the franchise’s best player by a mile and rushed for 970 yards from 208 attempts scoring 12 touchdowns in the process.
However, his contributions were not enough and the franchise ended up with a poor 3-13 regular season record.
Peterson’s importance for the Vikings is even greater this year and Frazier wants to remain cautious with the health of his running back.
He continued further:
"He's so valuable to our organization that we have to be smart. We'll tread lightly as far as Week 1 and how much he'll contribute on the field. Even when we get to training camp, he's going to be chomping at the bit but we'll have to be smart."
The running back is targeting a return by the first game of the new 2012 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars but is likely to be used sparingly with running back, Toby Gerhart shouldering much of the responsibility in his absence.
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