Linebacker Desmond Bishop stopped and chatted with reporters as he left the locker room Friday. Bishop said his ACL surgery is scheduled for Tuesday with Dr. James Andrews.
Andrews performed Adrian Peterson's ACL surgery, and Bishop said he's using Peterson's accelerated recovery as his motivation.
"The first person who I talked to was Adrian about it," Bishop said. "I was looking at his whole timeline so that's who I'm kind of in competition with right now. I believe he got his surgery after the injury six or seven days after. I think mine is going to be eight so I'm a little upset about that [smiling]. Going forward, I'm just going to try and keep at the same pace he had. He kind of set the blueprint. That's where I'm channeling all my focus, to out-do him."
Bishop suffered the injury in the second quarter Sunday when a Carolina player slammed into his right leg on a running play. It came during Bishop's first start for the Vikings.
"It's definitely unfortunate," he said. "I feel like I was kind of getting into my groove. I've always been in my groove, honestly. But it's just the way life is and the way things go sometimes. The only thing I can do is focus on what I can control and that's my rehab and coming back even better."
Bishop missed the 2012 season after suffering a torn hamstring in his right leg, an injury that he called worse than his ACL tear. Bishop signed a one-year contract this past offseason so his future his unclear. He said he's not thinking that far ahead.
"I'm seriously just trying to channel all my focus on recovering and healing," he said. "Just ready to tackle this whole process. I've been here before. I know what it takes to come back physically, mentally, psychologically. I'm prepared."
Roster move
