Head coach Gary Kubiak announced in his weekly press conference Monday that wide receiver Andre Johnson's sprained left knee suffered at Carolina could take him out of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts and perhaps even longer.
Kubiak said he would list Johnson as "doubtful" for the upcoming game Deep Steel Sunday contest versus Indianapolis. The good news is that there is limited swelling in the knee.
"We feel very fortunate, Andre's going to be fine," Kubiak said. "Is he going to be fine in a week, or is he going to be fine in four weeks? We're still in an evaluation process right now. But he's definitely got a sprain and we'll know more here in a couple days.
"We expect him back, no doubt, and just hopefully sooner than later. So we'll have to see."
Texans head athletic trainer Kevin Bastin spoke to reporters on a conference call following Kubiak's press conference.
"He's got a sprain to his knee," Bastin said of Johnson. "We're fortunate that nothing from the MRI (exam) indicated that he needs any surgery. So that's a good sign. He had just trace swelling on the knee, which was another good sign."
{QUOTE}Bastin said Johnson injured his knee on his 10-yard catch in the fourth quarter of Sunday's win over the Panthers. Safety Chris Harris hit Johnson shortly after the reception, and Johnson bent back awkwardly. After a few moments on the ground, Johnson left the field and did not return. It was the last pass that the Texans attempted in the game.
"After seeing the film, it's fortunate," Bastin said. "It could've been worse based on the way he was twisted around."
In the meantime, Johnson is wearing a brace for his knee. He'll be reevaluated by Bastin and team physician Dr. Walt Lowe on Wednesday, when they'll have a better idea of Johnson's timetable for recovery.
"We'll probably know more by mid-week just on how (Andre) responds to the immobilization and the treatment that we do for him," Bastin said. "Probably at this point, for this weekend (versus Indianapolis) he would be questionable or doubtful for this week."
Kubiak hadn't spoken to Johnson prior to his 3:30 p.m. press conference, but Bastin described Johnson as positive upon hearing his temporary prognosis.
"He was typical Andre," Bastin said. "His demeanor doesn't change a whole lot. He was encouraged. We told him last night our big thing we're watching for is hopefully the knee doesn't swell on us, and it didn't. It had a little bit, but him knowing that and coming in and saying, 'Hey, my knee didn't swell,' he was just real positive about that."
As Johnson recovers, the Texans have no choice but to prepare for the worst. But Kubiak has no immediate plans to add another receiver to the roster.
"Well, we talked about that, but I like our guys," Kubiak said. "Definitely if Andre (Johnson) can't go, André Davis will be the guy that will be up. And we'll give those four guys a chance. They'll have to step up for the football team. We won't replace Andre. If he's going to miss some time, you cannot replace him. The whole football team will have to pick up the slack and we'll all have to replace Andre in how we play."
Davis, who signed as a free agent this offseason from Buffalo, has 14 career touchdowns in five NFL seasons. He's been inactive the first two contests this season, but would join Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and Jerome Mathis in the receiver rotation if he were to be activated this Sunday.
