Vikings center John Sullivan suffers back rehab setback

When Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan injured his back and was placed on injured reserve back on September 10, 2015, he was given the designation to return. That meant that if everything went well, the anchor of the team’s offensive line would be eligible to return to the squad for the November 8th game against the Saint Louis Rams. However, now his return this season is up in the air.

According to the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, John Sullivan suffered a setback during workouts that forced him to undergo a second procedure on his back. Considering the healing time for an injury of that type, it is unlikely that he will be able to return for the 2015 NFL season.

Even scarier is a quote from head coach Mike Zimmer when he was filling in the media on what happened with Sullivan and what his future is for the Minnesota Vikings.

"“He had a relapse about 10 days ago in the weight room, and so he had another procedure done on his back,’’ Zimmer said. “So we don’t know when he’ll be back or if he’ll be back.’’"

Oct 12, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan (65) rests during the game with the Detroit Lions at TCF Bank Stadium. The Lions win 17-3. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The scariest part of that statement is at the very end, where Zimmer states that he’s unsure if Sullivan will return at all from the injury. While this could just be the Minnesota Vikings head coach stating the absolute worst case scenario, it’s something that fans of the team don’t want to think about right now.

Taking care of these kind of injuries can be difficult. That’s especially true when the player wants to rush back to health to take the field. At this time, it’s not known what the primary cause of the “relapse” was, but we do know that is was bad enough for force another surgery to be done.

"“It was disappointing in that he was doing really, really good, and then all of a sudden he had a little mishap and so he had to have another deal done,’’ Zimmer said."

While Sullivan is out, Joe Berger will be the starting center for the Minnesota Vikings. As soon as we get more information on the severity of his injury and duration that he will miss, we’ll be sure to pass that news along.

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