Bears' Hester has shoulder-area injury but 'should be fine'

The Chicago Bears keep picking up wins and injuries. Good thing for them they have a bye this week.

Although they've won three straight, the Bears could use some recovery time after Devin Hester became the latest high-profile addition to the wounded list with an injury to the shoulder area during Sunday's 48-24 win over the Detroit Lions.

Coach Lovie Smith said Hester "should be fine," but whether he'll be ready for Atlanta in two weeks remains to be seen. The same goes for backup running back Adrian Peterson (sprained right knee) and receiver Johnny Knox (right shin) after they left Sunday's game and defensive lineman Israel Idonije, who had what Smith said was "minor" arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday.

"We haven't ruled anybody out, so I'm pretty excited about having all of our guys," Smith said.

They're on a long list of banged-up Bears that starts with linebacker Brian Urlacher, whose season ended with a dislocated right wrist in the opener at Green Bay. Linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer (rib) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee) have also missed time this year, as has tight end Desmond Clark (rib).

The bye comes at a good time for Chicago (3-1).

"We have a lot of guys banged up," defensive tackle Tommie Harris said. "A lot of things didn't happen the way we wanted them to happen, with all the injuries."

Harris had just come up with his first career interception by picking off a pressured Matthew Stafford deep in Lions territory when Hester was injured.

On second down at the 4 with about 12 minutes left in the first half, Hester caught a short pass from Jay Cutler and tried to juke the Lions' Louis Delmas and William James. He got crunched instead and left the game, though he showed no obvious signs of injury when he got up.

Smith said the injury was to the "shoulder area."

By the time Hester left the game, the Bears had already lost Peterson, who was to undergo more tests on his knee. Knox followed them to the trainers room in the second half after starting the third quarter with a 102-yard return for a touchdown, the second longest on a kickoff in franchise history.

As for Idonije, he had been listed on the injury report with a knee problem the past few weeks and was questionable for the Lions game. He wound up producing a sack and forcing a fumble.

"It's unknown, but we feel pretty good about him coming back quickly," Smith said. "We'll see how it goes. Pretty tough guy."

Losing the versatile Idonije would be a blow. As Harris put it, "He can do everything -- special teams, defensive line. He can do so much for the defense. He means so much for the team."

Yet, the wins are starting to pile up even though players are falling.

Despite the injuries and giving up 21 points and 273 yards in the first half to Detroit, there were some positive developments for the Bears on Sunday. There was Knox setting the tone in the second half with that return and the defense simply going into lockdown mode, shutting down the Lions the rest of the way.

Matt Forte had his breakout game, running for 121 yards, and Chicago had 277 yards running back punts and kickoffs, with Danieal Manning, Earl Bennett and Hester each contributing returns of 24 yards or more. Robbie Gould hit both field goals, including a 52-yarder, and Brad Maynard pinned the Lions inside the 20 on all four of his punts.

"We're in a pretty good situation here going into the bye," tight end Greg Olsen said. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We've got 12 weeks now in a row, so we have to come back from the bye rested, healed up and get ready for a long stretch."