"The Vikings' passing game is hurting, and so are several of the team's receivers.

Starting receiver Sidney Rice said he suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Sunday against Indianapolis.

Rice said he was told there's a "good chance" he will be able to play Sunday against Carolina, but given the way he limped around the locker room Monday, that seems unlikely.

Rice said he's "pretty sore," and "it kind of hurts when I walk a little bit." He said he hopes when the swelling goes down, the pain will decrease as well.

Rice said he was injured in the second quarter. He returned in the third quarter but was forced to leave the game after he felt popping and shifting in his knee.

"I'm glad it's (just) this," Rice said of his diagnosis. "It could have been much worse."

He said he's getting treatment twice a day.

"I'm just going to go through the process with the trainers, and hopefully I'll get back to where I'm able to get out there and perform to the best of my ability," Rice said.

Other Vikings receivers aren't in perfect shape, either. Starting receiver Bernard Berrian appeared to walk with a limp as he left the locker room. He declined to comment.

Berrian has been fighting a sore right toe since the exhibition season, when he missed three games because of the injury.

Reserve Aundrae Allison had an electronic stimulator machine hooked up to his legs.

With all the injuries, veteran Bobby Wade might be the team's healthiest receiver.

On Monday, coach Brad Childress didn't reveal much about injuries or bumps and bruises from the game. Childress said defensive tackle Ellis Wyms suffered a concussion.

Getting Berrian, receivers going: Childress said he needs to do a better job of making Berrian a bigger factor in games and getting more passes thrown his way.

"The fact is that he had a couple of looks ... and we weren't able to get the ball to him," Childress said. "We obviously have to do a better job of getting the ball to our wide receivers. Even though the game plan was (to run), as I spelled it out to you, somewhere you're going to need to throw it to your wideouts. Whether it's short or whether it's long, you have to get the ball to those guys."

The receiving unit is trying to bounce back from two subpar games to start the season. Tight end Garrett Mills leads the team with 49 receiving yards.

Wade said there are things the receivers can do better to gain separation from defensive backs, including lining up correctly on the line of scrimmage and running better routes.

"Things we can definitely fix," Wade said. "It's not a problem where we don't have the personnel that's able to make separation. It's the fundamentals, the details." "