Manning suffered the injury during Monday night's preseason victory over the Jets. The quarterback was victim of an intense collision when a play miscommunication resulted in Manning's forehead crashing into Jets safety Jim Leonhard's face mask without his own helmet on. The impact left Manning with a streaming gash on his forehead, and he was forced to leave the game.
Though the younger Manning insisted he could continue playing in Monday's game, doctors are being more careful with him. The quarterback was in New York City on Tuesday morning to undergo several tests to determine the severity and impact of the injury. It was initially reported that the collision did not cause a concussion.
Though the injury required 12 stitches, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said his quarterback wasn't complaining about the pain. Manning was in the middle of undergoing several tests at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan when Coughlin spoke with reporters earlier in the day.
Coughlin also said that Manning would be expected to return to practice on Wednesday, but his playing status for Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers was still questionable due to the head injury. The coach is concerned with how Manning will wear his helmet over the stitches, saying the helmet may impede the healing process.
"We will wait and hear what the doctors have to say once all the examinations are concluded," Coughlin said in a conference call Tuesday. "The idea for me going forward was how we are going to make it so that he can practice and play with the stitches. Naturally there is concern there from the doctor's standpoint because just the nature of where the helmet sits according to where the stitches sit could create a problem in terms of healing."
Until the results of Manning's test are revealed, the Giants may be looking toward backup quarterback Jim Sorgi for Saturday's preseason game at home against the Steelers.
Before he went down with 10:40 remaining in the second quarter, Manning completed four of eight passes for 77 yards against the Jets. The Giants have two more preseason games after Saturday's matchup with the Steelers, as they travel to Baltimore on Aug. 28 and host New England on Sept. 2.
