| Vikings wide receiver Greg Childs continues his recovery from a torn patellar tendon. (US Presswire) |
As the assembled media waited for Vikings players to walk into the locker room earlier this week, they saw someone that hadn’t seen in a while. WR Greg Childs , who tore the patellar tendon in each of knew in training camp, walked to his locker and was immediately surrounded by cameras and tape recorders.
“Y’all just caught me,” Childs said. “I come in everyday and do work. [I’m] kind of laying behind the scenes, but I’m in here every day. I’m down here every day doing work, rehab, doing all types of stuff.”
The last time Childs had been seen was during a preseason practice, but he had just recently gotten off crutches, and just came by to see some of his teammates. The Childs seen this week was clearly walking well, and was soon headed back to another workout.
“I’ve been walking for a while,” Childs said. “No braces, no nothing, coming in every day, getting the leg stronger, range of motion, working out, lifting weights, all that. It’s a long process, but you’ve just got to be prepared for it, get your head in the game, have your mind set.”
Childs is recovering from a patellar tendon injury for the second time. He lost a season in college when he tore one of them. But to return from two is a hefty challenge, and the smiling Childs appears willing to take it on.
“[The injury] hurt. It kind of hurt my feelings a little bit,” Childs said. “But you’ve just got to push through it. You’ve got to understand football is a game [and] you’re going to get hurt. But it’s how you come back and how you respond when you do get hurt, [or] when things go bad for you.”
Childs said having gone through it twice has helped him because he knows what is required to get back on the field. And he knows that a big part of that is mental strength. He appears to be doing well in that regard.
“Next season,” Childs said when asked about a prognosis. “I’ll be back on the field next season. So, I’ll be back out there running around doing my thing, making plays.”
For more Vikings news and notes, follow Joe Oberle on Twitter @CBSVikings and @joeoberle.