Mike Zimmer still dealing with vision issues but says he won't have more surgeries

Zimmer missed a game last season after having surgery to repair a detached retina

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is still experiencing vision problems in his surgically-repaired eye, but will not undergo additional operations on the eye, which has needed eight surgeries. 

Zimmer discussed the issues stemming from his detached retina with the Pioneer Press in a conversation during which he revealed that he is still waiting for a gas bubble that was placed in his eye during the last operation to dissolve. Until it does, Zimmer cannot fly with the team.

"That gas bubble's got to be gone before he can fly so it doesn't pop out of his head and they're chasing it down the aisle," Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman said.

Zimmer stated that if the gas bubble does not dissolve in time for training camp, he will drive from Kentucky (where he lives during the offseason) to Minnesota in time to be at camp. 

"There's no lens in the eye, so all I can see is shapes," Zimmer said. "Once this bubble goes out, I can get a contact supposedly to see."

Inserting a permanent lens in Zimmer's eye is another option, but Zimmer himself is against it.

"Which we're not going to do that," he insisted. "We're not having more surgeries."

Zimmer missed the Vikings' early December game against the Dallas Cowboys last season when he underwent emergency surgery to fix the detached retina. (Special teams coach Mike Priefer filled in. Zimmer returned the following week while wearing an eye patch for the Vikings' game against the Jaguars.) That came after a previous operation to fix a scratched retina, which took place in November. Zimmer only missed that one game despite undergoing another surgery during the season. 

Zimmer is scheduled to meet with doctors next week to determine if the issues he's currently experiencing have subsided.