Vikings receiver Adam Thielen gets stitches for cut on ankle

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen is questionable for Saturday's game against the 49ers after a league source said he needed stitches on his left ankle to repair a cut that occurred when he was cleated in Wednesday's practice.

It's believed Thielen will be able to play in Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game, though he did not participate in Thursday's practice and was moving gingerly as he left the field. He would not discuss how many stitches he received or how the injury occurred.

"It is what it is," Thielen said. "At that point, it's trying to figure out how to get out there on Saturday. That's my mind-set; do whatever it takes to get out there on Saturday and try to help this team win."

Asked how the injury occurred and what effect it would have on Thielen's status for Saturday, coach Mike Zimmer said he did not know.

Thielen's ankle is the latest in a series of injuries under odd circumstances for the Vikings late in the regular season and in the playoffs.

The Vikings listed Thielen as questionable the same day they ruled cornerback Mackensie Alexander out for their second playoff game. The cornerback, who first showed up on the team's injury report the Friday before its Week 17 game against the Bears, played in the game while the Vikings rested many of their starters and had surgery on Thursday to repair a torn meniscus. Second-year cornerback Mike Hughes was also placed on injured reserve last Friday, two days after practicing in full with a neck injury that landed him on the injury report for the first time last Wednesday.

Thielen caught seven passes for 129 yards in the Vikings' 26-20 overtime victory over the Saints on Sunday, including a 43-yard reception in overtime that set up Kirk Cousins' game-winning touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph. It was the first time he'd surpassed 100 yards since the Vikings' Oct. 6 win over the Giants, which came two weeks before a hamstring injury that caused Thielen to miss four games and large parts of two others.

"It's the same thing as a competitor with anything, whether it be a play, an injury, a distraction, what have you," Thielen said. "You just put it behind you, you take the situation for what it is and you control what you can control. The people that do that the best are usually the more successful team, person, individual, what have you."