Dalvin Cook has some injury advice for Adam Thielen

After experiencing a similar injury last season, the Minnesota Vikings running back has some advice for the team’s top receiver as he recovers from an injured hamstring.

Less than a year after an ACL tear cut his rookie campaign short, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was back on the field for the team’s 2018 regular season opener.

During his first two games, Cook looked electric. However, he suffered a hamstring injury in the Vikings’ second matchup last season and it resulted in him having to sit out the team’s game in Week 3. Cook attempted to return to action for Minnesota in Week 4, but he ended up only appearing in less than 30 percent of the team’s offensive snaps.

The young Vikings running back clearly wasn’t ready to play and it ultimately resulted in the team sitting him out until Week 9 so that his hamstring could fully recover.

This season, Minnesota receiver Adam Thielen is dealing with a similar issue. Thielen injured his hamstring back in Week 7, he sat out the Vikings next game against the Washington Redskins, and then he made an attempt to return to the field last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Like Cook in 2018 though, Thielen’s return didn’t last very long and he spent the majority of Minnesota’s matchup with the Chiefs on the sideline.

With a current record of 6-3, the Vikings are gearing up for a push toward the playoffs. With some pretty tough games left on their 2019 schedule, Minnesota is going to need all the help they can get to ensure they earn a trip to the postseason.

Cook knows how valuable Thielen is to the Vikings this year, but he also knows that the receiver should take as much time as he needs to let his hamstring heal properly. When speaking with local reporters on Wednesday, the Minnesota running back offered some advice to his injured teammate.

"“Just don’t let that one game turn into two, three, four. I kind of dealt with that, so just take some time and re-evaluate it and just do what’s best for you. Don’t come back until you’re 100 percent. We need (Thielen) on the field, he’s valuable to our team. But he’s valuable to our team when he’s 100 percent. We don’t need him out there when he’s 50, 70, we need him 100 percent and we want that guy to get well.”"

Obviously, Cook and the rest of the Vikings would love to have Thielen back in the lineup for their upcoming showdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

But at the same time, the talented running back knows that there is still plenty of time left in the season and the team would rather have him miss a few games to get back to full health rather than have him play the rest of the year with a hamstring that continues to act up.

The best-case scenario would likely be for Minnesota to keep Thielen out of their next two games and see if he healthy enough to return in Week 13 when they take on the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully, by then his hamstring will be in much better shape and he can help the Vikings in their attempt to get back into the playoffs.