MANKATO -- Darius Reynaud said when he heard his ankle pop, he feared the worst.

"I didn't even look down, I thought it was bad," he said. "When they first checked it out it wasn't a high ankle sprain."

That was good news for Reynaud, who is competing for playing time as a backup running back and is also expected to handle punt return duties. High ankle sprains typically linger for weeks.

Reynaud returned to the field Tuesday for the first time since spraining his left ankle during special teams practice last Wednesday. Reynaud wanted to test his ankle so he didn't go full speed. He said he felt no pain and asked the trainers if he could increase his workload on Wednesday.

"It's doing pretty good right now," he said. "The trainers are doing a good job getting me back on the field as quick as possible."

Here's a quick wrap-up of the afternoon practice:

  • The Vikings had more weird weather for their afternoon practice. It started out with clear skies and high winds. But dark, ominous clouds rolled in and looked as if they might force practice to be stopped. Lightning could be seen in the distance but the Vikings shifted practice to the Blakeslee Stadium for some live team work. The clouds moved overhead and brought some rain behind it. The practice lasted about 90 minutes before the players quickly jogged off the field.
  • The Vikings worked on goal-line and short-yardage situations. Jamarca Sanford and Letroy Guion made back-to-back stops at the line in the goal-line work.
  • Jared Allen handled the snapping duties during a field-goal period with Cullen Loeffler away from the team for the birth of his child. Allen was perfect on his snaps.
  • Adrian Peterson had a explosive run around the left corner but he pulled up downfield. The field conditions weren't great so it's hard to know if he didn't want to risk anything. Peterson has been bothered by a tight left hamstring.
  • Middle linebacker E.J. Henderson got into the action during the live work and showed his usual aggressiveness in attacking the ball carrier.
  • Chris Cook and Lito Sheppard were the corners with the first-team defense during the first team period.
  • The afternoon practice marked the last live contact the Vikings will have until Saturday's preseason opener in St. Louis.