Jordan Hicks felt the pain as soon as it happened last month. The Vikings linebacker tackled Saints running back Alvin Kamara early in the Nov. 12 game, absorbing some friendly fire from teammate Cam Bynum in the process.

As he limped off the field, Hicks assumed he had simply suffered a bruised shin due to the collision. No big deal. He tested it out on the sideline, and after getting clearance from the training staff, he returned to the game.

“I felt like I could  go,” Hicks said. “I still had strength at that point.”

It wasn’t until after halftime that Hicks realized something more serious was going on in the lower part of his right leg. He remembers coming back to the bench after a particular drive and not being able to lift his foot. He headed back to the locker room, and instantly the adrenaline faded and the pain skyrocketed.

“I ended up in the fetal position,” he said. “It was excruciating.”

Unknowingly, Hicks had developed compartment syndrome in his right leg, a condition caused by pressure buildup from internal bleeding. He described it as the “deepest and darkest ache” imaginable while noting that it caused him to break out into a full sweat.

As his teammates filed into the locker room after Vikings put the finishing touches on a 27-19 win over the Saints, Hicks was being loaded into an ambulance. He was in emergency surgery 45 minutes later to reduce the swelling. If the Vikings didn’t act as quickly as they did, Hicks said doctors told him he could have lost his right leg.

“I didn’t realize how bad it could’ve been,” Hicks said. “Thankful for the training staff, for the doctors, for everybody on the sideline making the quick decision to get me to the hospital.”

Talking to reporters Thursday at TCO Performance Center, Hicks sported a scar that was nearly a foot long. He described how the procedure featured doctors completely cutting open his shin and letting the blood leak out as quickly as possible.

“Don’t go on the Internet and search what that looks like,” he said. “It’s extremely graphic.”

It remained an open wound for a few days before doctors sewed it up. Though he was back walking shortly thereafter, the Vikings placed him on injured reserve on Nov. 14, which means he’s technically eligible to return to practice next week if he’s medically cleared.

“We’re trying to see how much it can handle,” Hicks said. “We don’t want to push it too far and have it swell up or anything like that.”

He said he’s “pretty optimistic” that he’ll be able to return this season. Never mind that there isn’t a timetable as of right now.

“You’re trying to make the milestones, and so far, so good,” Hicks said. “Just trying to make it as quick of a timeline as possible.”

The most important thing, however, is that Hicks  doesn’t have any permanent damage.

“I feel extremely blessed,” he said. “It was obviously a scary situation.”

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