Minnesota Vikings hope to get healthy for Bears game

Health has been a major factor in the Minnesota Vikings last two losses, but how long will it take for the defensive starters to return to the lineup?

The Minnesota Vikings have been doing their best to deal with some major injuries to their offense and defense. While several offensive linemen have no chance of returning, there are some members of the defense who could be coming back to the lineup soon.

Four starters on defense missed last week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football. Safety Andrew Sendejo (knee), safety Harrison Smith (knee/hamstring), linebacker Anthony Barr (groin/hand), and defensive tackle Linval Joseph (toe) were all out for the contest, but there is some hope that they could return for Sunday, December 20, 2015’s game against the Chicago Bears.

After the Cardinals game, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer spoke about how the injuries were coming along and how much the injured Vikings want to return to the game. Here is what he said according to Vikings.com:

"Oct 25, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) runs after a catch as he is chased by Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith (22) and strong safety Andrew Sendejo (34) during the first quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports“I don’t know. I know that I got a pretty good report this morning that they’re all moving in the right direction, we’ll just have to see how that goes. I’m hopeful. These guys want to play bad. That’s one thing about this football team is they want to fight for each other and these guys want to get back in there and fight as soon as they can.”"

It’s great that theses guys want to fight hard to return to the team, but there is still the fact that they will need to get healthy enough to come back to the lineup. Mike Zimmer spoke about the timetable on these player, but did so very vaguely.

"“Sendejo would probably be the quickest back, I would guess. The other, talking about Barr, Joseph and Harrison, they’re all kind of right in the same vicinity.”"

If these three players can return for the game against the Chicago Bears, they could make a major difference for a Minnesota Vikings teams hoping to land a playoff berth or maybe even contend for a NFC North division championship.