HOUSTON — Andre Johnson has a mild left hamstring injury, although Texans coach Gary Kubiak said it’s too early to know if his star receiver will play at Cincinnati this weekend.
Johnson pulled up in the third quarter of Sunday’s 17-10 victory over the Falcons as he was chasing down a deep pass from rookie T.J. Yates. Johnson was playing his second game after missing the previous six with a right hamstring injury that required minor surgery. An MRI exam showed Johnson’s latest hamstring issue was far less severe than the last one.
“We’re very fortunate,” Kubiak said. “He’s day to day. I’ll probably give you a better answer once we give him a couple of days here, and get to Wednesday. But we do expect him back, hopefully sooner than later.”
Meanwhile, punter Brett Hartmann is out for the season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament late in the game. Kubiak said the Texans might consider signing Matt Turk, who was cut by the Jaguars in October.
Ponder hampered by hip pointer
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder has a hip pointer after taking a hard hit early in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos.
Coach Leslie Frazier said Ponder’s injury was the one the Vikings are “most concerned about” this week, but he added trainers told him the rookie “should be fine” for Sunday’s game against Detroit.
Frazier said Joe Webb would play if Ponder couldn’t.
Footnotes.
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick returned to practice after missing three games with two broken ribs, and will play Sunday against Miami.
• Four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis underwent an MRI exam on his injured right hamstring, and his status for San Francisco’s game Sunday at Arizona was unclear.
• Rams backup quarterback A.J. Feeley has a small fracture in his right thumb, leaving his availability in doubt for Monday’s game at Seattle.
• Two women said they suffered minor injuries when Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh crashed his car into a tree in Portland, Ore. Portland police originally said there were no injuries in the early Saturday accident.
• The Colts put cornerbacks Jerraud Powers (elbow) and Terrence Johnson (undisclosed) on injured reserve.
• A lawsuit filed in New Jersey by 12 former players against the NFL about its concussion policies claims there was widespread pregame use of an anti-inflammatory drug that could put someone with a head injury at increased risk.
The Associated Press
