John Sullivan Placed on Injured Reserve / Designated to Return List

So..."back spasms", eh?

In what is surely going to be filed under "News that no Minnesota Vikings fan needs to hear right now", the team issued a statement saying that they have place starting center John Sullivan on the Injured Reserve / Designated to Return List. Here is the team's full explanation:

Sullivan underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy on Wednesday. Teams are able to place one player per season on IR/designated for return. Players placed on IR/designated for return are eligible to return to practice after 6 weeks and to games after 8 weeks. Sullivan does not count on the Vikings 53-man roster. The current roster stands at 52 players.

Obviously this is terrible news for a unit that was already a big question mark heading into the season. With Phil Loadholt already out for the year, a thin offensive line just got much thinner. Veteran lineman Joe Berger will likely take over starting center duties for the Vikings going forward. One would assume that the team would fill out the open roster position with an offensive lineman as well. Isame Faciane and David Yankey are the two offensive lineman currently on the Vikings' practice squad.

Stay tuned for more as the story develops.