Message From Sidney Rice

From Sidney Rice's new blog...


I’m in physical therapy getting my hip iced up right now. I can tell you that physical therapy is not fun.


I injured my hip during the Saints game and it was pretty bad afterwards. I got an MRI right after the game and the doctors said at that point that I had time and it could heal on its own. So I just tried to take it easy from there. No one wants to have surgery if it can be avoided, especially if the injury has a chance to heal on its own.


I gave it some time and it started getting better over the next couple of months. Mini-camp came around and I tweaked it during practice. I wasn’t feeling good after that so I went and got another MRI out in Colorado with Dr. Philippon. He looked at the results and basically said it looked the same as after the MRI I had after the Saints game. He said I could have the surgery or I could continue rehabbing and see how it felt and it could still heal on its own.


So once again, no one wants to have surgery, so that’s the route I took. He said it could be taken care of after season, that I could play with it this season and then get it fixed in the off-season, so that’s what we were hoping for.


I went to training camp not at 100 percent but I started feeling better. I was running, doing some cutting drills, things like that. Last week I was a little sore after the cutting drills, but the pain was something I thought I could tolerate.


Like a week and a half ago I went back to see the doctor for another MRI and he said it showed significant changes. It was something he thought would be a serious problem if I didn’t get it taken care of right then, a problem that could shorten my career. I was feeling better, I had my full range of motion back and felt like I was ready to go, but the doctor compared the last two MRIs and said I should get it taken care of right now.


I talked to a couple of my teammates about it and our trainers and felt like it was the right move to make because I would still have an opportunity to finish the season strong and help the Vikings make a push for the Super Bowl.


Once the doc got in there and checked everything out, he said having the surgery was the best move I could have made, so I don’t regret it now. He said it could have been much worse if I would have tried to play on it during the season. He said it could have been my last year of playing football, so I know I made the right decision.


The surgery was successful. I was surprised when I woke up from the surgery and they told me I would be getting on the exercise bike that same day. I was still out of it from the anesthesia, so I figured they were mistaken. But at 7 o’clock that night they got me out of bed and put me on one of those light fitness bikes and had me peddling for about 20 minutes.


It’s only been a couple of days but I’m feeling better and better with less pain. I have to take it slow, I don’t want to rush it, but everything should be fine and I should be back to 100 percent if I follow my rehab plan, which I will.


People are going to say what they want to say about my contract or whatever, I’m not really worried about that at this point. My main focus is getting back on the field and performing at a high level like I did last year and helping the Vikings win a Super Bowl. It’s not my concern what people say about my contract, whatever happens, happens. If the Vikings decide to give me an extension, that’s great. If not, life goes on. I’ll continue to work hard and do everything I can to be successful in what I’ve been doing my whole life, and that’s playing football.


When I get back it’s nice to know Brett will be out there. Everybody is happy to have Brett back, he’s a great leader, a great player and has a football mind. It’s always good to have a guy like that around and guys look to him as a team leader.


As for when I’ll be back, I’m not really sure but I’m aiming for being back on the field before midseason. I want to do as much rehab as I can as fast as I can without jeopardizing the injury or making it worse. Whatever the doctor says, I’m shooting for two weeks before that.


I want to thank the fans who have supported me throughout this ordeal. Just keep your heads up and know that I’m working hard. Dallas is still the destination.