Adrian Peterson tore the meniscus in his right knee during Sunday night's Vikings' victory over the Packers. The timetable for a return by the Vikings running back is unknown.
"We're going through the evaluation process, figure out what the next procedure would be, the options that we have," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said at his Monday media briefing.
"We'll have an update as soon as we figure it out."
Zimmer, who also joked about his own torn meniscus, said Peterson was "sitting down with the doctors," but he didn't even go so far as to rule Peterson out for Sunday's game at Carolina.
"I don't know the medical terminology, I just know it's a torn meniscus. They're always getting second opinions, that just what they do."
Peterson, who had a well-documented recovery from a torn ACL in his left knee, went down on a third-period hit and was carried from the field and into the locker room during the Vikings' 17-14 victory. He left the stadium on crutches.
"His heel kind of planted and then a guy hit him from the side a little bit," Zimmer said.
Fullback Matt Asiata and tailback Jerick McKinnon would fill in for Peterson.
"That is what comes with this job," Matt Asiata said. "The next man has got to step up and the coaches have trust in Jerick and I to fill in for Adrian, and we are going to do that."
Said guard Brandon Fusco: "[Peterson is] the best running back in the NFL. Obviously, that would be heartbreaking for us. There have been some crazy things injury-wise since I've been here. It's just got to be the next man up if that's the case, and go from there."
The Vikings have already lost starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for the season to knee surgery.
"That's NFL football," said defensive end Brian Robison. "You're going to have guys go down throughout the year. Us as a defense, we're going to put it on our shoulders and we're going to make sure we do whatever we can do to put the offense in a good position."
Asiata and McKinnon filled in for Peterson two years ago when Peterson missed 15 games because of suspension and being on the exempt list as he faced child abuse charges.
"I've got all the confidence in the world in them," tight end Kyle Rudolph said. "And it's not just those two. It's everybody on offense. We all have to pick our game up. It's the same thing as when Teddy went down. Everyone's got to get a little bit better, do one thing better each and every day, and we'll be all right."
Said Zimmer: "We're not going to be the only team in the league to have injuries. It's just part of professional football."
Peterson had only 19 yards on 12 carries as the Vikings again struggled to move the ball on the ground.
"We didn't play very good up front last night," Zimmer said. "We didn't pass protect very well. We didn't do a very good job run blocking. They got after us up front, I thought. So we've got to get better."
