Vikings' Peterson bothered by ankle injury

Dec 31, 2008 - 11:16 PM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson on Wednesday said he has been bothered by an ankle injury for the past three weeks.

The league's leading rusher with 1,760 yards, Peterson will lead the Vikings into Sunday's wild card playoff game against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles.

Peterson told the Star-Tribune that he re-injured the ankle in Sunday's 20-19 victory over the New York Giants that clinched the NFC North title for Minnesota.

"I've been fighting with this ankle injury the past three weeks," Peterson said. "Going out on Sundays I take a lot of shots in the legs, so it got twisted up on that play and it was pretty painful (against the Giants)."

Asked how the ankle was feeling Wednesday, he said: "pretty good."

Peterson limped off the field in the first quarter against the Giants following his league-leading ninth fumble. He finished with 103 yards on 21 carries, including a 67-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

Just the fifth running back in NFL history to amass 3,000 yards rushing in his first two seasons, Peterson has 10 100-yard games this season.