AP

Bears receiver Johnny Knox cracked a facet joint in his spinal column when he was bent backward awkwardly during a December game against the Seahawks, and when initial reports said he would need 3-4 months to recover, that sounded like good news compared to how ugly the injury looked.

But now comes word that the 3-4 months estimate may have been overly optimistic.

When a fan asked Knox on Twitter last week whether he thinks he can play next season, Knox didn’t answer the question directly, saying only that he wants to get to 100 percent before he thinks about that. And Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, citing multiple unnamed sources, reports that there’s doubt about Knox’s potential availability for 2012.

According to Wright, Knox had a vertebral fusion and will have to wear a back brace for another month, and his timeline for recovery could be more than six months.

For Knox, who hinted in a reply to another fan on Twitter that the injury nearly paralyzed him, getting his health back is the most important issue. For the Bears, it may be a long time before they know whether the man who emerged as their best wide receiver last year will be back in the fold at all in 2012.