John Sullivan fully expects back to stay healthy in training camp

After making it through the Minnesota Vikings' organized team activites and minicamp "unscathed," center John Sullivan said Thursday he's confident [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysbands.com/]wholesale jerseys[/url] his back will hold up through training camp as he tries to return from two surgeries last season.

Sullivan underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy just before the start of the regular season and needed a second operation after suffering a setback in October. He missed all of the 2015 season -- Joe Berger did a solid job in his absence -- and he'll try to reclaim the starting job [url=http://www.wholesalejerseyslan.com/]wholesale jerseys[/url] once training camp begins next week.

He's not heading into camp with apprehension about how his back will handle padded practices, he said, because the toll on his back won't be much different than it was this spring.

"There's not a whole lot of difference between an OTA practice with no shoulder pads and going out there and hitting," Sullivan said. "Especially on the interior [line], where you're doing so much hand-fighting, and guys are getting their jerseys snatched. I won't say I was fully apprehensive, but I questioned it -- 'Is my back going to hold up [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysband.com/]wholesale jerseys[/url] going into OTAs?' It did, and my body held up great, everywhere. I feel really confident I'm fully healed and ready to go."

Sullivan, who turns 31 [url=http://www.wholesalejerseysbands.com/]wholesale NFL jerseys[/url] on Aug. 8, said in April that he expects to regain his starting job, though he'll have to battle Berger. His setback occurred last fall when he was trying to return from short-term injured reserve and hurt his back lifting weights.

With plenty of time to recover after [url=http://www.wholesalejerseyslan.com/]wholesale NFL jerseys[/url] his second surgery, though, Sullivan believes his back is ready for the grind of a season.

"If you're out there in a jersey [in OTAs], they're actually able to grab more cloth, because the jersey's not tight [without shoulder pads]," he said. "You can say there's theoretically more spinal compression by banging shoulders with people. But on the interior, we're playing with our hands so much, it's really wrestling and hand-fighting. It's not like I'm in a huge collision spot all the time. We're hitting every play, but I'm not running and hitting every single play. I fully expect my back will stay healthy."