Johnny Knox to undergo back surgery, but Bears say career prognosis is good

Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox will undergo surgery on Monday to stabilize a vertebrae injury he sustained Sunday after being bent backward by a hit. As Cindy Boren reported: Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox will undergo surgery Monday to stabilize vertebrae in his back. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? inShare Gallery Top 10 moments: We boil down the thousands of photos and hundreds of plays from each week’s games to give you a look at the best. For full effect, view this gallery in full-screen mode. Knox suffered what the Bears said was a mid-back injury on one of the scariest and most unusual hits imaginable, a hit on which he was nearly doubled over backwards. Knox, who signaled thumbs up as he was carted off early in the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field, has feeling in his extremities. Knox was injured trying to recover his fumble after a 17-yard reception; as he lay on the ground, Seattle’s diving defensive end Anthony Hargrove collided with Knox’s upper torso, bending it back. (Video can be seen here; a gif is here.) “Johnny has total movement throughout his body,” Coach Lovie Smith said (via the Chicago Tribune). “He has total use of all of his extremities, which is good. He is not paralyzed or anything like that.” Knox was attended to on the field for about 10 minutes before being carted off and taken to a hospital. Seattle recovered the ball and went on to score on the possession on a Marshawn Lynch touchdown. The Bears have stated that the career prognosis for Knox is positive, and that the receiver has the ability to move all of this extremities, a good sign for spinal cord injuries. As Cindy Boren explained : Early reports on Knox, who suffered a mid-back injury when he was nearly doubled over backwards on a play early in the game against Seattle, indicate that he has feeling and movement in his extremities. “There is a positive prognosis for his playing career and quality of life,” a Bears spokesman said after the game (via the Chicago Tribune). Coach Lovie Smith told reporters that “"Johnny has total movement throughout his body. ... He is not paralyzed or anything like that.” A positive outcome might not have seemed likely immediately after the scary, freak injury. Neel Anand, director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles, told Sean Jensen that he was encouraged by the news that Knox could move his limbs. “Neurologically, he's completely fine,” Anand said (via the Chicago Sun-Times). ”The only thing left is the nature of the stability.” Anand said the most common injury, based on the nature of the collision, occurs at the junction of the thoracic and lumbar curvatures. Doctors will be looking to determine whether Knox has suffered “unstable or potentially unstable fracture.” Surgeons most likely will stabilize the fracture with screws and rods. “If it's an innocuous fracture, and all he needs is screws and rods, he could come back in three to six months,” Anand said. Knox was one of several players who were injured that game, and across the league several key offensive and defensive players were knocked out of action. As AP reported: Green Bay rookie offensive lineman Derek Sherrod broke his right leg when Kansas City linebacker Tamba Hali rolled into him in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ 19-14 victory which ended the Packers’ run at an undefeated season. He took over in the first half when starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga went down with a knee injury. Buffalo wide receiver Stevie Johnson aggravated a groin injury, and tight end Lee Smith hurt his left ankle in a 30-23 loss to Miami. Coach Chan Gailey already ruled out Smith from playing on Dec. 24, while Johnson’s status was uncertain. New England defensive end Andre Carter was carted off the field with a left knee injury at the end of the first quarter of a 41-23 win over Denver. He was hurt attempting to tackle Broncos running back Lance Ball. Carter immediately grabbed his left knee after the play at the Patriots 13. Earlier, Broncos running back Willis McGahee hobbled to the sideline with an injured left leg. Cincinnati rookie wide receiver A.J. Green sprained his right shoulder, but bounced back and returned to catch six passes for 115 yards in the Bengals’ 20-13 win over St. Louis. New York Giants tight end Jake Ballard left the 23-10 loss to Washington with a right knee injury. Wide receiver Devin Thomas hurt his neck, was lifted on a stretcher and carted off, but the team announced that he was up and walking around in the locker room. Cleveland lost three players — linebackers Titus Brown (knee) and Ben Jacobs (concussion), and wide receiver Jordan Norwood (concussion) — in the Browns’ 20-17 overtime defeat. More from Washington Post Sports Surging Chargers blow out Ravens 34-14 Brady, Patriots slow down Tebow and the Broncos Chiefs hand Packers first loss of season