Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks didn't think the right shin injury he suffered on the fifth play of the Nov. 12 win against the Saints was anything other than a very painful bruise until he woke up at the hospital after emergency surgery.
In his first comments to local reporters on Thursday, Hicks said he was thankful for the team's training staff that had him in an ambulance quickly after the win. He underwent an operation to address dangerous swelling called compartment syndrome.
"Heard the doctor say, 'It's a good thing you got in because you could have lost your leg,'" Hicks said.