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SAN DIEGO – Two-time Pro Bowl kicker Nate Kaeding entered the season healthy after what he called the best training camp of his career.

Then his season ended after one play. Kaeding tore ligaments in his left knee while planting his leg in an attempt to tackle Percy Harvin during the opening kickoff and will be placed on Reserve-Injured.

Luis Castillo, who also suffered a significant injury against Minnesota on Sunday, is expected to miss time as well, though he was still being evaluated early Monday afternoon. It’s unclear if and when he’ll return. The Chargers expect to add a kicker and a defensive lineman this week.

San Diego is considering a short list of kickers who have either been with the Chargers before or with whom the coaching staff has personal experience.

“Nate’s unbelievable,” Head Coach Norv Turner said. “We’ll get someone hopefully who can be as accurate.”

The Bolts entered the season with six defensive linemen on the 53-man roster, all of whom were active Sunday against Minnesota. Expect third-year defensive end Vaughn Martin to see the field more. The Chargers inserted him frequently in third-down and obvious passing situations Sunday before Castillo went down, and Martin made three sacks in preseason.

“We’re lucky,” Turner said. “We’ve got a young guy in Vaughn that we’ve been grooming. We’ve got Cam (Thomas) at nose guard that can be a backup player. And we’ve talked about Jacques (Cesaire).”

Cesaire started all 16 games at right defensive end last season, a spot now occupied by first-round draft pick Corey Liuget. Turner responded to a question about Ogemdi Nwagbuo, released Sept. 3 to make room for an extra special teams player, by saying the third-year defensive lineman is familiar with what the Chargers do and isn’t limited to defensive tackle. The Chargers expect to sign Nwagbuo this week.

There was some good injury-related news Monday. Mike Tolbert (knee), who scored three touchdowns against the Vikings, is likely to play this week against New England.

“He took a couple shots and got a couple bumps and bruises but he gave out more than he took,” Turner said. “He’s a physical player and he was outstanding.”

Patrick Crayton, who missed the season-opener after having bone spurs removed from his ankle a few weeks ago, also could play this week. The team hopes he’ll practice on Wednesday.

RECOVERING WELL: San Diego allowed 17 first-half points and trailed in the fourth quarter, but a second-half surge by the defense gave Philip Rivers and the offense time to exploit a stubborn Minnesota defense.

The Vikings were just 1-of-5 on third downs after halftime, managed just two first downs in the second half and never crossed midfield after a Michael Jenkins touchdown catch with 9:44 left in the second quarter.

Players credited Turner for a calm, business-like halftime demeanor.

“No one was panicked. No one was overly anxious. I think it was matter-of-fact,” Turner said. “We did a good job of tackling, we did a good job of swarming, and they were limited in their number of opportunities.”

Minnesota’s offense had just 43 plays to San Diego’s 77.

“It wasn’t all pretty, but we leaned on each other and got it done,” said Philip Rivers, who acknowledged the pass offense didn’t convert as many opportunities as it could have in the first half. “I think every guy in that locker room is past all the numbers and hype and who rates where. We’re just trying to win.”