Justin Jefferson’s much-anticipated return to the field was cut short on Sunday.
The Minnesota Vikings All-Pro wide receiver missed time while dealing with a hamstring injury, and made his return in Week 14 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. His return didn’t last long, however, as he was ruled out with a chest injury in the second quarter of his team’s 3-0 win.
In the immediate, the injury was concerning: Jefferson was sent to the hospital for ‘precautionary reasons,’ according to the team. There is a chance for Jefferson to make his return in Week 15, however.
Jefferson’s ailment is latest injury in a string of brutal injuries for Minnesota. Aside from Jefferson’s hamstring injury that forced him to miss seven games, the team also dealt multiple blows on offense, with quarterback Kirk Cousins and RB Cam Akers both landing on IR with Achilles injuries.
Minnesota faithful may not have to wait to see Jefferson return to the fold, however. Here’s the latest on Jefferson:
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Justin Jefferson injury update
On Dec. 11, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell set Jefferson’s status as ‘day-to-day’ and the wideout has a chance to play in Week 15 vs. the Bengals.
The Vikings wide receiver exited Sunday’s game with a chest injury, after he took a hard hit from Raiders safety Marcus Epps. Jefferson was evaluated on the sideline before being transported to a local hospital. O’Connell said that testing eliminated any serious injury to Jefferson.
Following the game, O’Connell said Jefferson was released from the hospital and would travel home with the team.
Jefferson made an attempt on a pass from quarterback Joshua Dobbs, but was unprotected and took a nasty hit from Epps in the process.
He would exit the game and head for the medical tent and later the locker room. The Vikings would initially list Jefferson as questionable before ruling him out later.
The CBS broadcast was first to mention that Jefferson was hospital bound.
Jefferson missed seven games this season while dealing with a hamstring injury. Despite his most recent injury, Jefferson still made history on Sunday, as he surpassed Randy Moss for the most receiving yards in the first four seasons with the franchise (5,408 to Moss’ 5,396).
This story will be updated.