Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has praised defensive end Charles Johnson's desire to return to the match having been injured in Monday's win over the New England Patriots.

Johnson limped out of the game early in the third quarter after an apparent leg whip by Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon, an incident that Rivera admitted he was left "disappointed" by.

However, the 27-year-old sufficiently recovered in time to return for the final series of the game, helping the Panthers to see out a narrow 24-20 victory as the Patriots failed to find a score in the closing stages.

"I went up to him and said, 'What do you think? Can you give it to us?' He said, 'I can give you everything I've got.' He went out there and he sure did," Rivera told reporters.

"One of the first two plays, he was part of that pressure that got to the quarterback. He reached deep down and did some good things for us."

Johnson is expected to undergo an MRI scan on his right leg today having had the injury initially diagnosed as a sprained knee.