Allen suffers shoulder sprain

Defensive end Jared Allen could miss some time after suffering a sprained AC joint (shoulder) in Sunday’s game, but the Vikings weren’t divulging the severity of the injury just yet.

The Vikings could be without their leading sacker from the edge if Jared Allen’s sprained shoulder is serious enough.

Allen suffered a sprained AC joint in the first half of the Vikings’ 28-21 win over the Houston Texans. He returned to the game and ended up with two sacks – one in the second quarter and one in the fourth quarter.

“Tough guy,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said Monday. “Case in point: There are people that leave the game and don’t come back and play with an AC sprain, can’t tolerate it with what they do. That happened in the first half and he was able to press on. We just weren’t going to be able to keep him off the field.”

Allen had the shoulder wrapped in ice after the game. Childress said he hadn’t talked to athletic training Eric Sugarman about the results of a magnetic resonance imaging test yet on Monday morning.

“I’ve not seen him yet … I don’t know exactly what he’ll be able to do this week or if he’ll make it to next weekend. We’ll just have to evaluate that as we go,” Childress said.

Allen has had two sacks in each of the last two weeks and is tied with defensive tackle Kevin Williams for the team lead with seven sacks.

Kevin and Pat Williams are reportedly both appealing suspensions for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances, leaving the team’s defensive line in a precarious position.

The Vikings gave up a first-round and two third-round picks to acquire Allen in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs and signed him to a six-year, $74 million deal this offseason, including $31 million in guarantees. Losing him would certainly put a damper on the team’s ability to generate a pass rush from the front four, and the Vikings are concerned about the length of time, if any, that Allen could miss.

“Yeah, there’s a concern. It’s a painful injury to live with, particularly the way he plays,” Childress said.