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Buffalo Bills' Stevie Johnson had fractured back, per report

Buffalo's best wide receiver missed practices earlier this spring for a very good reason: he had a fracture in his back.

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when Stevie Johnson was missing spring practices because of an undisclosed back ailment? As it turns out, the Buffalo Bills' top receiver had a fractured vertebrae in his back, which he confirmed to Tim Graham of The Buffalo News.

"It got to the point where, 'It's got to be something more than a strain or something' because every time I sit down it's hurting," Johnson told Graham. "Every time I stand up it's hurting. I lay down, it's hurting. I went through rehab and it wasn't helping. So I got the MRI, and it was a slight fracture."

Even better: Johnson apparently injured the back while he was filming his workout regimen for BuffaloBills.com this past March. Go figure. Graham reports that Johnson received a cortisone shot and an epidural as part of his treatment for the back break.

The perpetually-dinged Johnson has also been dealing with an ankle injury this spring, but he participated in this past week's (now concluded) mandatory minicamp, and had been practicing for a week or two prior to that. He also has yet to miss a start since becoming a starter in 2010, appearing in 48 straight games.