Knee injury forces Giants defensive end Umenyiora to miss season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With the retirement of seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Strahan, the job of repeating as Super Bowl champions was going to be difficult for the New York Giants.

Now it might be near impossible with the news that fellow Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora is out for the season with a knee injury.

An MRI on Sunday showed that Umenyiora tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee in a preseason game against the archrival Jets on Saturday night.

The two-time Pro Bowler will have surgery on Tuesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. The recovery period is about four months.

Dr. Russell Warren, the team surgeon, never discussed a non-surgical option, coach Tom Coughlin said.

"My number one concern is about Osi," Coughlin said in a telephone conference call on Sunday. "I did talk to him on the phone a short while ago and told him that he is in everyone's thoughts and prayers."

The devastating report came less than 24 hours after the team had thought it had caught a break in the wake of the second-quarter injury, which happened when Umenyiora's foot seemed to stick to the turf as he tried to beat Jets tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson to the outside.

The Giants get the worst news, losing two-time Pro Bowl DE Umenyiora for the year. (AP)

Umenyiora was carted off the field with what the team described as a locked knee. X-rays taken during the game revealed no ligament damage. An MRI on Sunday found the torn meniscus on the 26-year-old who led the team with 13 sacks last season.

"It was obviously the news that I did not want to hear," Coughlin said. "But after listening to the explanation and Dr. Warren's thoughts on it, I am convinced that this is the right procedure and the right way to go."

The combination of the injury and Strahan's retirement leaves the Giants very thin at defensive end.

Coughlin said the team is considering all its options, with the most obvious being enticing the 36-year-old Strahan to come out of retirement.

Strahan retired in June, ending a 15-year career highlighted by the Giants' stunning Super Bowl victory over the unbeaten New England Patriots.

Coughlin recently talked with Strahan about his new career working on Fox's pregame NFL show on Sundays.