Adrian Peterson will have surgery on Thursday to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee, a surgery that could end the Vikings running back's season.
Coach Mike Zimmer confirmed the surgery plans at his Wednesday news conference, but did not elaborate on a timetable for Peterson's return.
"I have no idea ... we'll find out during surgery," Zimmer says. "It depends on if the (doctor) has to repair it or mend it. Could be season ending, could be three, four weeks, I don't know.
"Have to talk to the doctors. I'm sure they'll let us know after the surgery."
Peterson has not been placed on injured reserve.
The Vikings signed veteran running back Ronnie Hillman, who played the past four seasons for Denver, appearing in 48 games for last season's Super Bowl champions. He had 863 rushing yards last season.
The team also put left tackle Matt Kalil on injured reserve as he will have hip surgery.
ESPN reporter Josina Anderson interviewed Peterson on Wednesday and was told he has what is known as a "bucket handle tear" and could be out for three to four months. Peterson told Anderson he was recovering with "faith and optimism."
The Vikings will proceed without the All-Pro tailback under new quarterback Sam Bradford, who said Wednesday that "I've got all the confidence in the world in the guys we've got in the locker room right now."
Bradford replaced starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater after Bridgewater tore his anterior cruciate ligament, and later had surgery, before the team's final preseason game. Bradford came from Philadelphia in a trade that included the Vikings' first draft pick next year.
"We just have to understand that's the NFL _ everybody's going to get injured; nobody is going to feel sorry for you," said defensive end Brian Robison. "You never want to see a guy go down, but at the end of the day, time is not going to stop. We just have to keep moving forward."
Peterson suffered the injury Sunday night on his 12th carry of the Vikings' 17-14 win against Green Bay after he was tackled from behind with his cleat pinned to the U.S. Bank Stadium turf. He immediately grabbed his lower right leg, though, and sat back down on the turf when he was unable to keep weight on his leg.
This is not the same knee Peterson injured late in the 2011 season. That was the ACL in his left knee that he tore before nearly setting the NFL's single-season rushing record in 2012 and being named league MVP.
Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata are the other running backs, along with Hillman, on the roster. McKinnon and Asiata split snaps in 2014 when Peterson played only one game after the NFL banned him following child abuse charges he faced in Texas.
As a team, the Vikings ranked 11th in the league in yards per carry that season and 14th in rushing yards overall. McKinnon, who averaged 4.8 yards as a rookie, had settled into the lead back role when a back injury ended his season. Asiata, meanwhile, was among the league leaders in rushing touchdowns with nine.
McKinnon will start and likely play at least 60 percent of the snaps. But Asiata would get carries, too, and probably handle goal-line duties. Both have had a role on passing downs this season while backing up Peterson, with McKinnon running routes and Asiata being trusted in pass protection.
"It's been a tough couple weeks for us as far as guys going down, key guys going down," Robison said. "But the thing that's great about this team is we're still hungry to get what we want to get. We've got guys that have bought into this system, bought into everything we got going on here. We got guys like Jerick and Matt Asiata that are going to step in and we've got confidence in them they'll get the job done."
So far this season, the Vikings found a way to win both of their games despite Peterson getting off to the least productive start of his career. He had only 50 rushing yards on 31 carries in his first two games and his 1.6 yards-per-carry average was the lowest for any player with at least 30 rushes since 1970 NFL/AFL merger, according to ESPN.
Peterson is making $12 million this season and is scheduled for a $6 million roster bonus in March for next season if he is still on the roster.
The Vikings play at defending NFC champion Carolina on Sunday.
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