Vikings cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. undergoes knee surgery

Andrew Booth Jr. made his first start of the season in a 40-3 loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 20.

The rookie cornerback emerged from the game with knee soreness, and missed Thursday's victory over New England. On Monday, Booth had surgery to repair a meniscus, a procedure that could end his season.

Booth will "more than likely" be placed on injured reserve this week, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said, which means he would be out a minimum four games. As of late Monday afternoon, O'Connell said he didn't know whether Booth's surgery was a full repair, which would end his season, or a trim that could allow him to return in January.

"He tried to work through some of that [soreness]," O'Connell said. "We ended up getting a couple other looks at it and it was deemed to be a meniscus injury. As many people know, you don't really know [the extent] until you go in."

Booth, a second-round pick out of Clemson, joins first-round safety Lewis Cine in the training room. Cine suffered a compound fracture and dislocated ankle on Oct. 2.

After being drafted this spring, Booth said he hadn't "played healthy since, like, high school" following knee and core muscle issues in college. This is his fourth surgery in the past three years — and third in the last 18 months after a sports hernia issue required two operations.

Booth, who missed portions of training camp because of an ankle injury, also missed four games earlier this year with a quadriceps injury suffered Sept. 11 against the Packers.

The Vikings may get one reinforcement in cornerback Akayleb Evans; he missed the past two games in the concussion protocol. The rookie fourth-round pick would likely step into a starting role with cornerback Cameron Dantzler not eligible to return from injured reserve until Dec. 11 in Detroit.

"We're hoping to have Akayleb get some great work this week and feel confident to get him back," O'Connell said. "Then hopefully next week we'll be able to activate Cam. That depth starts to look a little better as we get into December."

Duke Shelley, the former Bears draft pick who joined the Vikings in September, became the sixth corner to start for Minnesota in the victory over New England. Shelley was frequently targeted in a bad night for the Vikings secondary as Patriots quarterback Mac Jones threw for a career-high 382 yards.