Vikings injury updates: T.J. Hockenson, Jalen Nailor, Kene Nwangwu, Brian Asamoah

The Vikings will reach another important training camp milestone this week when they host the Titans for a pair of joint practices at TCO Performance Center. In an 11-day span from August 16th to 26th, they have four joint practices and two preseason games. This is a critical stretch for evaluation and development.

With that in mind, let's go over some of the latest injury updates.

Hockenson dealing with ear infection

Vikings Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson has been out for roughly a week, and now we know why. He's been dealing with an ear infection that has affected his equilibrium, he told reporters on Monday.

Hockenson participated in the Vikings' walkthrough on Monday but isn't sure if he'll take part in joint practices this week.

"I’m starting to get cleared up," he said. "I had an ear infection that was messing with my equilibrium."

Asamoah banged up

Linebacker Brian Asamoah has also missed some time recently. In his place, undrafted rookie Ivan Pace Jr. has gotten more and more reps with the first-team defense. Asamoah didn't play in the preseason opener and should also be viewed as questionable for joint practices after sitting out Monday's walkthrough.

Head coach Kevin O'Connell said the team chose not to play Asamoah on Thursday in Seattle because they wanted to be smart with him.

"He was going to get minimal work, but he was still feeling some discomfort, O'Connell said. "Didn’t want to aggravate it, knowing how big this next week was, but he was definitely advocating to play all the way up until kickoff."

Nwangwu, Nailor among those still out

RB Kene Nwangwu and WR Jalen Nailor have both been out due to injury for a while at this point. Their contributions on both offense and special teams mean they should still be locks to make the 53-man roster, but the Vikings would obviously love to see them return sooner rather than later.

With Nwangwu, all O'Connell said is he's "just kind of working through the last bit of discomfort." 

Nailor has been out since the early days of training camp with a lower-leg injury and was initially expected to be back by now. O'Connell said it's "been a little tricky."

"We’ve been getting some really positive news as of late," he said. "Hopefully, he is turning the corner, but it’s one of those things — lower leg things — where on initial diagnosis versus what it actually is, the most important thing ... (is) we want him to be healthy. We want him to feel good."

Other notes

• LB William Kwenkeu was waived with an injury designation and will join DT James Lynch on the team's injured reserve. The Vikings signed experienced special teams player Tanner Vallejo to fill Kwenkeu's roster spot.
• Also absent from Monday's walkthrough, per Andrew Krammer: WR Garett Maag, WR Lucky Jackson, DT Jaquelin Roy, and DT Jonathan Bullard. WR Trishton Jackson is back to full participation.