Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in Sunday night’s 17-14 win over the Green Bay Packers.Vikings coach Mike Zimmer revealed the nature of the injury to radio station KFAN-FM on Monday but did not rule out his star running back for Sunday’s game at the Carolina Panthers.”We’re going through the evaluation process,” Zimmer said. “Figuring out what the next (step is).”Zimmer said Peterson was “sitting down with the doctors.”Peterson, the NFL’s leading rushing in 2015 with 1,485 yards, was carried off the field and left the stadium on crutches after sustaining the injury in the third quarter of Sunday’s game. The 31-year-old Peterson was hurt on a short run up the middle when Packers linebacker Kyle Fackrell rolled onto Peterson’s right leg.”His heel got kind of planted and the guy hit him from the side a little bit,” Zimmer said.Peterson finished the game with 19 yards on 12 carries Sunday after a slow start in Week 1, when he managed 31 yards on 19 carries against the Tennessee Titans.Peterson suffered a torn ACL in his right knee late in the 2011 season, but returned the following year to rush for a career-high 2,097 yards.The Vikings played without Peterson for much of the 2014 season. He missed all but one game after he reached a plea deal on a child-abuse charge and was suspended by the NFL.Jerick McKinnon, primarily a third-down back, and fullback Matt Asiata would likely share the carries if Peterson is unable to play against the Panthers.”That is what comes with this job,” Asiata told the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis. “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.”
