The Cincinnati Bengals will be missing the services of defensive end Michael Johnson after he suffered a grade 2 (MCL) sprain during their practice last Sunday.

ESPN reported that Johnson suffered the injury as a drill involving only running backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers was about to end.

The players wore shoulder pads for the first time in training camp, although defenders were not allowed to tackle the ball carriers.

Johnson went down after the players collided as rookie running back Terrell Watson was running the ball.

Trainers evaluated the 28-year-old athlete who remained lying on the field before he stood up, walked gingerly by himself as a cart arrived shortly, and was sent to the hospital.

ESPN added in the report that Johnson asked Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and his teammates to pray while he was being attended by trainers on the field.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no other damage on Johnson's knee but he will miss four weeks of action because of the injury, NFL.com reported.

Meanwhile, Lewis remains optimistic about Johnson's situation and said he will be okay.

"From everything right now it seems like Michael should be OK, but they'll continue to do what they do and hopefully that'll continue to be positive reports. Whoever it's been on those field exams, they're usually pretty accurate. So I feel good about that," Lewis told reporters Sunday according to ESPN.

Johnson is currently in his second stint with the Bengals after spending his first five National Football League (NFL) seasons with the team that picked him 70th overall in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Last season, Johnson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, although he struggled because of injuries.

The Bucs released him last March 11 and four days after, he returned to the Bengals inking a new deal as a free agent.