AP

When Vikings wide receiver Greg Childs tore the patellar tendon in each of his knees last year, his rookie season came to a painful end and many wondered if he’d be able to return to the NFL.

There’s a limited history of NFL players suffering similar injuries and no history of players returning to play in an NFL game after going down in that manner, which explains the doubts about Childs’ ability to return. He’s been rehabbing like mad, however, and was seen catching passes during OTAs this week, leading to questions about whether he might be able to resume a full workload. Coach Leslie Frazier is holding onto hope that it could happen early in training camp.

“I have my fingers crossed, hoping that that will happen,” Frazier said, via Dan Wiederer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I’m waiting on [head athletic trainer] Eric Sugarman and our medical staff to give us the green light. But that would be my hope. We’ll see what happens. I’m not sure what direction it will go. ”

Childs also suffered a serious knee injury while at Arkansas, so caution should be paramount because the third time certainly won’t be charmed for the receiver’s chances of having a professional football career. It’s hard to imagine a significant contribution in 2013 from Childs, but any contribution would be a big improvement on the Vikings’ previous thought that Childs may never play a meaningful down in the NFL.