Adrian Peterson: Back injury a concern headed into Seattle game

Adrian Peterson is doing everything he can to combat back problems that caused him to miss time against Green Bay.

Adrian Peterson has been missing practice this week because of a lower back injury but you can rest assured he will not miss Sunday’s playoff game against Seattle.

How effective will the 30-year-old, sore-backed Peterson be against Seattle? That’s another question. The Vikings need Peterson to be very effective if they’re going to beat the Seahawks and advance to the next round.

Peterson missed much of the second half against Green Bay and is clearly concerned about how the back is feeling.

According to USA Today, Peterson has undergone a series of treatments on the injured area:

"And Peterson has been going through a battery of treatment — stretching, ultrasound, Graston Technique — to make sure the lower back problems that caused him to miss time in Week 17’s NFC North title game against the Green Bay Packers won’t stop him Sunday."

Again, there’s no question that Peterson will play, but you do have to wonder how effective he can be in cold conditions against a top defense with his lower back in so much pain that he’s had to resort to a “battery of treatments.”

Peterson is 30 and carried the ball a league-high 327 times in 2015. He is the definition of a high-mileage player.

Peterson may be feeling all those miles on his body right now. His strong will is legendary and he will need to summon all of it if he’s going to give the Vikings what they need to beat Seattle.

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The Vikings need Peterson to not only run with his usual abandon, they need him to carry the ball a lot if they’re going to take the onus off a passing game that looked shaky at best last week vs. Green Bay.

How many carries does Peterson have in him given his obviously weakened state? Norv Turner will try to mix in Jerick McKinnon I’m sure, but at the end of the day the weight will mostly be on Peterson and his sore back.