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Vikings' Adam Thielen suffers ankle injury; Stefon Diggs again sits out practice

EAGAN, Minn. -- Already without Stefon Diggs for a second straight day, the Minnesota Vikings got more bad news at the wide receiver position with Adam Thielen suffering an ankle injury in practice Wednesday.

Thielen cut his ankle, which required stitches, a source told ESPN, confirming an NFL Network report.

Thielen, whose overtime catch set the Vikings up for a 26-20 win against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC wild-card game Sunday, was listed as limited on the team's injury report and was not seen walking off the field following practice.

The injury isn't believed to be too significant in terms of affecting Thielen's availability for Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, but his official status for the game will be determined on the final injury report Thursday, according to sources.

"I got a little tangled up at practice, but I'm going to do whatever it takes (to play), it's playoffs so I'm going to do whatever it takes to be out there on Saturday with my teammates and help this team win," Thielen told NFL Network on Thursday.

He was officially listed as questionable by the Vikings on Thursday.

Thielen was not on the injury report Tuesday, and he went through normal stretching and individual drills during the portion of practice that was open to the media Wednesday. He was scheduled to speak with the media Wednesday, but his session was postponed.

Diggs, meanwhile, is dealing with an illness, and coach Mike Zimmer did not express concern over how his absence might affect his availability to play at the 49ers on Saturday.

"No, he's sick," Zimmer said of Diggs. "He'll be fine."

This is Thielen's second injury this season. He hurt his hamstring in the first quarter of a Week 7 win at Detroit and made a brief return in Week 9, only to reinjure himself early in a loss at Kansas City.

The Vikings shut Thielen down for the next six weeks until he returned against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 15.

Thielen's breakout performance against the Saints -- seven catches for 129 yards -- came after totaling 109 total receiving yards in the last five games he played in 2019, including a Week 16 loss to Green Bay in which he was held without a catch.

The Vikings on Wednesday were also without safety Jayron Kearse (toe/knee) and nickel corner Mackensie Alexander, who is slated to have surgery to repair a tear in his lateral meniscus, a league source told ESPN. Nose tackle Linval Joseph was upgraded to limited participation with a knee injury.