Vikings Say Peterson Won't Need Surgery

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota Vikings first-round draft pick Adrian Peterson will not need surgery to repair a broken left collarbone. <br/><br/>Vikings doctors said Wednesday that the injury was

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 2:36 pm

By: News On 6

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota Vikings first-round draft pick Adrian Peterson will not need surgery to repair a broken left collarbone.

Vikings doctors said Wednesday that the injury was healing fine on its own and they will not have to give Peterson a protective plate to prevent further injury.

Peterson, the No. 7 overall draft pick out of Oklahoma, first injured his clavicle in a regular season game early last season. He missed the final seven games of the season but came back to play in Oklahoma's loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl in January.

Peterson re-injured the collarbone in that game, and it led some to question whether he needed surgery, which brings a three- to six-month recovery time. But after the final examination on Tuesday, Vikings team doctors determined that he will not need surgery.

``We felt the fracture was well on its way,'' team doctor Joel Boyd said. ``We thought it would be best to let it heal in a natural way.''