Brian Urlacher Injury: Bears Linebacker Will Be Healthy Entering 2012 Season

Whew. That was a close one, Chicago Bears fans.

In the fourth quarter of a meaningless 17-13 victory, Brian Urlacher dropped back into pass coverage and sprinted down the field covering a receiver and jumped up in the end zone to try and knock it down.

At the same time, his teammate Major Wright jumped to knock down the ball as well and the safety drilled Urlacher. The linebackers leg contorted in gruesome fashion and immediately the trainers sprinted out onto the field. It looked bad, and fans were prepping themselves for the worst.

He landed on his left knee, a body part that was already injured going into the game, and while Urlacher was laying on the ground the leg was essentially immobile. Did he break his leg? Did he tear an ACL?

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the initial diagnosis is a sprained MCL and he should make a full recovery this offseason.

His head coach Lovie Smith has no worries about Urlacher's injury bleeding into the 2012 regular season:

"

He heals a little bit quicker than most people so he should be OK. I am not concerned.

"

He heals faster? Does Urlacher have some sort of super power we are not aware of?

Anyway, it looks like Urlacher is just fine and the Bears captain will be ready to roll next September. In a season where you can directly blame injuries for their demise, it would have been icing on the cake to lose Urlacher for an extended period of time.

With one of the best defensive cores in the NFL and a healthy Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, expect the Bears to be competing for a playoff appearance once again next year.