The Chicago Bears have been beset by bad luck this season, watching a once-promising campaign slip into irrelevance as one key player after another has gone down with a season-ending injury. But one injured player who considers himself lucky is Johnny Knox.
The wide receiver received a warm welcome from his teammates Friday when he walked into the Bears' practice center for the first time since undergoing surgery to stabilize a vertebra in his lower back.
Knox was trying to recover his own fumble after a catch during a Dec. 18 against the Seattle Seahawks when he was hit and bent backward by 6-foot-3, 272-pound defensive end Anthony Hargrove.
"When I got hit, I pretty much blacked out," Knox told the Bears' official website. "Trainers and doctors rushed over to me. They told me to move my legs and I moved them, so that was a good sign.
"I was feeling sore, but I wasn't thinking negative. I was thinking positive about it. I'm just glad they got over to me quick enough to make sure that I was all right, and I was."
It isn't certain if Knox will be ready to return for the start of next season. He had 37 receptions for 727 yards before his injury, but he isn't ruing the lost production.
"I feel real fortunate," he said. "I'm glad that I can walk. That's the most important thing. Now I can just focus on rehabbing, getting better and stronger, and getting back on the field."
