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Though Adam Thielen is optimistic about returning soon from a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions, the Minnesota Vikings aren't. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the team is concerned that his injury does not entail a day to day recovery time; instead, it is week-to-week.
Thielen will have an MRI on Monday, which will dictate his timetable to return. It's unlikely that he plays on Thursday against the Washington Redskins.
“We'll evaluate it, see where it's at after getting an MRI and then hopefully I'll get ready to go,” Thielen said after the win, per ESPN. “I'm optimistic that I'll be playing and that's all we can do right now.”
Thielen suffered the injury on a beautiful toe-tapping 25-yard touchdown reception with 5:23 to play in the first quarter. After the play, the Pro Bowler was slow to get up and was attended to by trainers on the sideline. He noted that he did not know how or when he suffered the injury on the play.
Thielen was downgraded from questionable to out in the third quarter. However, he claims he would have been able to return if the team needed him.
“That's a tough question because I always feel like I can play,” Thielen said, per ESPN. “But at the same time I trust our eyes and I trust their opinion and I'm just there to try to help this team win and do whatever they tell me to and they have my best interests in hand and I'm going to trust that and hopefully we can get it back.”
The Vikings did not need him, or they did not want him to risk further injury. Instead, quarterback Kirk Cousins spread the ball around, throwing touchdowns to tight end Kyle Rudolph, wide receiver Olabisi Johnson, and fullback C.J. Ham.
If out on Thursday, the Vikings will employ the help of Johnson, a rookie, against a hapless Washington team.
