Kyle Rudolph recovering from sports hernia surgery

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph said he's making progress after sports hernia surgery last week. He was in the Vikings locker room on Monday, a week into the recovery process after sitting out on Sunday in the team's 41-28 victory over the Falcons at TCF Bank Stadium.

Rudolph said the injury initially bothered him during the first week of training camp. There was a tear in the abdominal muscle away from the pelvis, Rudolph said, that he felt on the right side. During the procedure, Rudolph said they went ahead and fixed both sides.

"I'm glad that I was able to get them fixed, move forward and be healthy for this push to the playoffs," Rudolph said. "I think everybody saw that we have something special going on here yesterday. Me personally watching on TV, I want to get back as soon as possible because I want to be a part of this."

The Vikings training staff exhausted all their options before deciding on surgery. Rudolph said he'd received treatment throughout the week but felt it wasn't getting any better on Mondays after games. The Vikings opted not to place him on injured reserve with a designation to return, sidelining him for eight weeks. Rudolph said the training staff believes he can return in five weeks.

It's the second straight season Rudolph will miss a considerable amount of time due to injury. He was placed on injured reserve last year, playing just eight games after breaking his foot.

"There's nothing worse than being hurt," Rudolph said. "When you're not able to be out there with your teammates, and you're either watching from the side or watching on tv, it's hard. At the same time, I knew this was necessary because we tried everything we could to avoid it. I had to get it fixed.

Rudolph received a five-year extension worth $36.5 million in August.