EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York
Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam
on Friday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck.
The Giants said their defensive
captain underwent the test in New York and was examined by team
physician Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. Frank Camissa, chief of the spinal
surgical services at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
The 31-year-old Pierce originally
sustained a burner when the Giants played Arizona on Oct. 25. He had
very little discomfort until practice this week, when the club's
medical staff scheduled the MRI exam.
"I'm shocked with what I heard from
the doctors this afternoon," Pierce said in a statement released by the
Giants. "I had no idea that what happened a few weeks ago could keep me
off the field. I didn't think it was that serious.
"I'm going to do everything the doctors tell me to do so I can get back out on the field as soon as possible."
The Giants (5-4) will host Atlanta on Sunday. New York, coming off its bye week, has lost four straight games.
Pierce, in his ninth NFL year and
fifth with the Giants, has 55 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble
in nine games this season. He was looking forward to trying to help New
York snap its losing streak on Sunday against the Falcons (5-4).
"This game means a lot to us," Pierce
said earlier Friday. "For one, we need a win to get out of this
four-game slump and, two, it will help us in the playoff hunt. We are
tied for one of the wild card spots and you always want to win the
head-to-head battles."
Pierce played in 15 games last season
after appearing in all 16 contests each of the previous two seasons. He
has led the Giants in tackles for the last three seasons and missed
only four regular-season games since leaving the Washington Redskins to
join the Giants.
He spent much of the past year in
the spotlight after helping former teammate Plaxico Burress when the
wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York
nightclub.
Pierce drove Burress to the hospital
and then took the gun that Burress used back to his home in New Jersey,
later arranging to get it back to the wounded receiver's home. Pierce
testified before a grand jury, which declined to indict him for his
role in the incident.