WARE, England — The good news for the Vikings is right tackle Brian O’Neill avoided a serious knee injury after getting rolled up on in the 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The bad news for the Vikings is O’Neill is still expected to miss some time after being diagnosed with a sprained medical collateral ligament.
Asked for details on the prognosis, head coach Kevin O’Connell actually expressed a little bit of relief, noting that he was initially fearing the worst when he saw O’Neill crumble to the grass on Sunday afternoon Croke Park in Dublin.
“I would consider him week to week,” O’Connell said. “I don’t necessarily see short term injured reserve as being a necessity at this point.”
If the Vikings were to put O’Neill on short term injured reserve, he would be required to miss a minimum of four games.
That would potentially elongate the overall time he’s out since the Vikings have their bye week coming up after they play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur in London.
The benefit of the Vikings currently being across the pond is that O’Neill can fully commit to the recovery process without needing to figure out logistics. He’s staying at Hanbury Manor in the English countryside with his teammates, so he has everything he needs at his fingertips.
“He’s doing his rehab where he sleeps,” O’Connell said. “It’s as simple as walking down the hall.”
Briefly
It doesn’t sound like edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel is going to practice this week as he works his way through a neck injury.
“We’re evaluating every avenue and all options to get him feeling 100 percent,” O’Connell said. “I’m hoping that timeline is ongoing and we’re on our way to doing so.”
Though the Vikings haven’t officially ruled him out for the game against the Browns, it’s safe to assume Van Ginkel won’t be able to play if he isn’t able to practice.
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