Lewis Cine reportedly needed multiple surgeries for gruesome injury

Minnesota Vikings rookie safety Lewis Cine reportedly underwent two surgeries in order to fix the severe injury to his left ankle that he suffered in Week 4.

When former Georgia safety Lewis Cine was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, many expected him to emerge as a Week 1 starter as a rookie.

But a number of events ultimately resulted in Cine beginning his rookie season with the Vikings as a backup. Minnesota’s 2022 first-round pick was still being given opportunities on special teams, but any snaps on defense were basically non-existent.

The hope was that Cine would find his way into at least a part-time role for the defense by the middle of the 2022 season. But a freak injury during the Vikings’ Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints quickly ended any chance of the rookie getting even a decent amount of time on defense this year.

Multiple surgeries reportedly required to fix the injured ankle of Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine

The video is out there of Cine’s injury and it’s not something that a person with a weak stomach probably shouldn’t watch. It was just an extremely unfortunate injury that the young safety must now spend the majority of his rookie season recovering from.

Cine reportedly suffered a compound fracture in his left ankle, meaning the bone likely pierced through his skin. The injury was so severe that the Minnesota safety reportedly needed to undergo an immediate surgical procedure after leaving the team’s Week 4 game before he underwent the major surgery last Tuesday according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin.

Luckily, it sounds like Cine has been keeping a positive mindset following his injury as he sent a recent text to Volin that read “everything from surgery to my mental [health] is going well.”

The Vikings rookie is back in Minnesota now where he’ll have to go through an extensive recovery process. Hopefully, the young safety is able to fully recover from his ankle injury and resume his career on the football field.