Mike Hughes tore anterior cruciate ligament in left knee on Sunday and will miss rest of season

Minnesota Vikings first-round cornerback Mike Hughes tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Sunday and will miss the rest of the season, head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed Monday.

The team feared a torn ACL after Hughes went down midway through the fourth quarter clutching his knee, which buckled awkwardly to the outside as he turned to break left while covering Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald.

"He's got a lot of great attributes and his skill set is good, but he's going to come back," Zimmer said. "We're going to miss him, but we're going to move forward."

Hughes, 21, played 243 defensive snaps (63.6 per cent) through six weeks, a large number in a defence that has traditionally worked rookies in slowly. He has 21 tackles, a pick six, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also played half of the special-teams snaps, including four kick returns for 107 yards and two punt returns for 13 yards.

Fellow cornerback Trae Waynes have battled a few injuries this season, including a hamstring issue and a concussion that kept him out of Week 5. Next up on the depth chart is 2016 second-rounder Mackensie Alexander and undrafted rookie Holton Hill.

Hughes was taken 30th overall out of UCF.