Mike Zimmer Cleared to Return to Vikings Following Eye Surgery

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has been cleared to return to coaching with the team following surgery in May to treat a detached retina, per Chris Tomasson of TwinCities.com.

The team announced Zimmer's return on Twitter:

Zimmer has undergone eight different surgeries on his eye, per Tomasson. 

He first injured the eye after scratching it during an Oct. 31 loss against the Chicago Bears, and his first surgery followed the next day. He also missed the team's Dec. 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys after requiring another surgery.

He announced he would be taking a hiatus from the team during a March 22 interview with KFAN-FM (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com):

"The doctors all got together and we had a long meeting about what's the best for my recuperation of this eye and they are saying I need to spend the next couple weeks working on my recovery. I just left the doctor's office, had really good news—the redness looks great, the pressure in my eye is really good. At this point now, we just need to take it easy and make sure it continues in the right way.

"I'll be back hopefully shortly. They felt like it would be better for me to get away for a little bit and just relax."

Despite the lengthy ordeal with his eye, Zimmer never intended on missing much time with the Vikings.

"I'll be back shortly with one eye or two," Zimmer said on May 26, per Tomasson. "It doesn't matter. I'll be back either way."

In three seasons with the Vikings, Zimmer has led the team to a 26-22 record, including a trip to the postseason in 2015. The team went 8-8 in 2016.