Adrian Peterson dealing with nagging left ankle injury

Adrian Peterson missed practice again Thursday with an injured left ankle that's sorer than it was a week ago.

The Minnesota Vikings running back downplayed the injury to ESPN Twin Cities, saying he's resting for the team's upcoming two-game stretch over five days. They follow Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals with a Thursday night affair against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8.

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Peterson sprained the ankle during a Week 5 win over the Tennessee Titans.

"Since I twisted it up and it happened, it's been hurting consistently," Peterson said. "Then we go out and play (against the Washington Redskins), it re-aggravates it, just the cutting and different things you're doing out there. So, it's sore, but you've just got to push through it."

Peterson said the ankle hurt him "a little bit" against the Redskins in Week 6. His 79 yards on the ground against Washington was his second-lowest output of the year, but his seven catches for 50 yards was his best pass-catching day since he returned from offseason knee surgery.

"It was a little worse, waking up that Monday and just feeling the beating you put on it the previous day," Peterson said. "It wasn't already healed 100 percent going into the game. So, when you've got a nagging injury like that, you've just got to stay on top of it, get the rest, continue strengthening it -- just do the necessary things to get you through that push to Sunday."

Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.