Harvin limping badly, Peterson ill

The Vikings’ top two offensive weapons won’t be practicing Thursday because of injury and illness.

The league’s leading rusher and leading receiver didn’t practice Thursday, and both of them normally practice under the same roof.

The Vikings are still holding out hope that Percy Harvin will be able to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but things didn’t appear optimistic with him and another offensive star.

Harvin walked through the locker room Thursday without the aid of the crutches that accompanied him Monday, but he had a bad limp as he slowly made his way through the room. Harvin sprained his left ankle in the second of the Vikings’ 30-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks but returned to finish the game with a visible limp.

Despite that, the Vikings were hoping he could take part in Friday’s practice in some form.

“It’s hard to see until we watch him move around. When we see him tomorrow, we’ll make that determination,” head coach Leslie Frazier said of possibly sitting Harvin Sunday. “Is he well enough to go out and play without putting himself in harm’s way, the fact that he can protect himself? We’ll see how he does tomorrow, if he’s able to go.”

To add to the Vikings’ troubles, running back Adrian Peterson left Winter Park with a stomach virus, according to Frazier, and didn’t practice Thursday.

Peterson leads the league with 957 rushing yards and is second among running backs with a 5.7-yard average per carry. He is also coming off his third straight game with at least 100 yards rushing.

He had 182 yards on 17 carries in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. He also had 123 yards (on 15 carries) and 153 yards (on 23 carries) over a five-day span in the previous two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals.

”I think he’s back up to full speed,” offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said. “I think he’s doing a terrific job when we’re doing a good job of blocking and creating some air in the defense for him to do his thing.”

While Peterson could recover and play Sunday against Detroit, Harvin’s outlook looks less likely, despite the stated hopes of Frazier on Wednesday and Musgrave on Thursday.

“We don’t know what Percy’s status will be,” Musgrave said. “We’ll hope that he can get back.”

Harvin leads the NFL with 62 catches. He also leads the league with a 35.9-yard kickoff return average.

The Vikings have the 30th-ranked passing offense and fifth-ranked rushing offense in the league.

Defensive tackle Letroy Guion (turf toe) also missed practice Thursday.

INJURY REPORT

In addition to Harvin and Peterson, DT Letroy Guion missed a second straight day of practice with turf toe.

FB Jerome Felton (shoulder), LT Matt Kalil (knee) and CB Antoine Winfield (knee) were limited for the second straight day. TE John Carlson (concussion), P Chris Kluwe (knee), S Mistral Raymond (ankle), S Jamarca Sanford (knee) and WR Jerome Simpson (calf) were full participants.

For the Lions, DE Cliff Avril (back), S Louis Delmas (knee), WR Calvin Johnson (knee), S Amari Spievey (concussion), DT Corey Williams (knee) and WR Titus Young (knee) didn’t participate for the second straight day. CB Chris Houston also didn’t practice because of illness. S Erik Coleman (toe) and T Corey Hilliard (knee) were limited.

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Tim Yotter is the publisher of Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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