Some encouraging news about Irv Smith Jr.’s injury might have been revealed

During his press conference on Monday, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer might have hinted at the length of time Irv Smith Jr. will miss after his upcoming surgery.

Deflating was certainly how many fans of the Minnesota Vikings felt on Sunday after the news dropped about tight end Irv Smith Jr. needing to miss some time due to surgery on his meniscus.

Smith just had a great training camp this summer to go along with a nice performance in the Vikings‘ final preseason game last Friday. The excitement surrounding the tight end’s potential this year couldn’t have been much higher.

The news about Smith’s injury really felt like it came a bit out of nowhere on Sunday. It’s something that has to be fixed though, so now, Minnesota is just hoping that the tight end won’t have to be sidelined for very long this season.

Doesn’t sound like Minnesota Vikings are preparing for the worst with Irv Smith Jr.

How long Smith will be out of action for this year will be determined by the type of surgery he will have on his meniscus.

A full repair of the meniscus would likely result in the Vikings tight end missing the entire season, while a trim of the meniscus would only keep him off the field for around four weeks at the most.

During his press conference on Monday, Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about the two different types of surgical procedures that Smith could be having on his meniscus. In regards to the operation that could potentially knock the tight end out for six to eight months (full repair), Zimmer said that he’s “never heard the six to eight months thing.”

While the Vikings head coach never gave an estimate to how long the team thinks Smith could be sidelined, Zimmer claiming to not be familiar with the recovery time from the more serious surgical procedure actually seems encouraging.

Minnesota’s head coach is a guy that likes to know every fine detail about his team at all times. So if no one has shared the info about the meniscus repair and the long absence that could come with it to him, then it’s probably not the type of operation Smith is going to undergo this week.

At the same time, Zimmer isn’t the best, or the most honest, when it comes to discussing his players’ injuries. For all we know, he could just be playing dumb, and the Vikings could announce that Smith will miss the entire 2021 season due to his surgery.