AP will go under the knife on Friday. (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

The Vikings aren't wasting any time when it comes to getting Adrian Peterson under the knife -- the star running back, who tore his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve and is expected to miss eight to nine months, will undergo surgery on Friday.

That's according to our Vikings Rapid Reporter Joe Oberle who reports that Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery.

"[We’re] praying that everything goes well," coach Leslie Frazier said on Thursday. "We'll get an update after the surgery."

That Peterson is undergoing surgery less than a week after suffering the injury tells you exactly what kind of timeline the Vikings are up against -- waiting any longer to get Peterson working on rehab could seriously effect how quickly he can return. As it is now, Peterson will be pushing it to make a Week 1 return even if everything goes smoothly.

After the surgery, Peterson will return to Minnesota for rehab.

"He’ll do a portion of it here and we’re going to talk more about what’s the best way to do it," Frazier said per Oberle. "He wants to do the best thing for him, and I think the best thing would be to do a great deal of it here."

The best thing for Peterson -- and for the Vikings -- is to be prudent with his health at this point. Frazier and the team erred, clearly, in putting Peterson on the field in a meaningless game while he was dealing with an injury.

They'd be wise to remember that before trying to rush him back for Week 1 in 2012.


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