Lovie Smith said Devin Hester should be fine from shoulder-area injury

Bears coach Lovie Smith said receiver Devin Hester suffered a shoulder-area injury against the Lions and should be fine.

Hester got sandwiched between two defenders following a 2-yard catch in the second quarter. Hester immediately went to the sideline then dropped to his knees. He then went to the locker room and was out for the rest of the game.

Smith was asked if he expected Hester to play against Atlanta on Oct. 18.

``Right now, two weeks away, am I expecting Devin (to play)? Yeah,'' Smith said. ``I'm expecting all of the guys to play right now. We haven't ruled anybody out. I'm pretty excited about having all our guys ready to go the next time we play.''

The Bears have an off week, giving injured players a time to rest. Receiver Johnny Knox injured his right shin and Adrian Peterson suffered an MCL strain in his right knee.

Smith said Knox should be fine. Peterson is out at least 2 to 3 weeks.

Defensive lineman Israel Idonije had his left knee scoped Monday and Smith called it a minor procedure.
"We feel pretty good about him coming back quickly,'' Smith said of Idonije. ``We'll see how it goes. Pretty tough guy. He'll be back out there before long.''

Idonije and Peterson are key figures on special teams. Smith did not announce any immediate plans to fill their roles.

``We have a little bit of time before we play,'' Smith said. ``We're not saying that either guy is out right now. We have a couple of weeks to heal up and go from there.''

Peterson also is an important part of the running game as a short-yardage back. If Peterson is out, Garrett Wolfe would be the primary backup to Matt Forte. The only other running back around is practice squad member Kahlil Bell.

``It would be hard to just go into a game with two running backs on our roster,'' Smith said. ``I'm hoping that we won't get to that point. If we get to that point, you always keep your options open. We have different options at every position right now, so we should be OK.''



(chicagosports.com)