ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Giants long snapper Ryan Kuehl will be sidelined at least a month with a severely strained left calf, coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday.
Kuehl was hurt in a non-contact punting drill early in practice Tuesday evening and had to be helped off the field.
"He took one step back and it looked like he got shot," punter Jeff Feagles said Wednesday.
Coughlin said it will take three to four weeks until the medical staff can evaluate the injury.
New York will open the season on Sept. 9 at Dallas.
An 11-year veteran, Kuehl has handled the Giants' snaps on punts, field goals and extra points for the past three seasons. He is considered one of the best in the NFL.
Kuehl was signed in 2003, months after the Giants dropped a 39-38 playoff decision to San Francisco. The game ended when Trey Junkin, who had been signed just before the playoffs, made a bad snap on a potential game-winning field goal attempt.
Veteran guard Grey Ruegamer handled the snaps on the four field goal attempts in practice on Wednesday. Two were good, one was high and the other bounced to Feagles, the holder.
Rookie defensive tackle Jay Alford and starting center Shaun O'Hara also have experience snapping on field goal and extra point attempts.
Rookie linebacker Zak DeOssie will handle the snaps on punts.
"I don't want to take from my linebacker stuff," DeOssie said. "I will go earlier and stay after practice to work on my snaps and work with Feagles, and just do my best."
Cornerback E.J. Underwood, a free agent who spent last season on injured reserve, has been sidelined this week after suffering a concussion on Saturday. He has been bothered by headaches and he is sensitive to light.
"I began to have concerns this week when he couldn't even go to the meetings," Coughlin said.
Tight end Jeremy Shockey spoke with the media on Wednesday for the first time since reporting to training camp, and he had little to say for a change.
A year ago in his first camp talk, Shockey criticized his own lack of patience, noted that the team's offense limited him and that coach Tom Coughlin can - to put it politely - be annoyingly stubborn.
There was nothing this time. He said his legs were tired after a couple of days of practice, that he was impressed with Mathias Kiwanuka's transition from defensive end to linebacker and he is trying to be a leader on an offense that is now without the retired Tiki Barber.
Shockey avoided controversy, refusing to discuss Michael Strahan's holdout.
"That Mike's business," Shockey said. "I respect him. He is a Hall of Fame player. Whatever he is doing is none of my business."
Shockey was diplomatic when asked about Coughlin, who has made an effort to be a little kinder this season.
"It's been the same Tom," Shockey said. "I don't know. I haven't heard he is trying to be different. He is the same coach that wants the best for the team and I haven't seen a different side."
The Giants' training camp lease with the University at Albany extends through the 2008 season with an option for 2009.
Giants co-owner John Mara said Wednesday that he has not given any thought about the future of training camp here. The school has been the site of training camp since 1996.
"It will be able to accommodate a training camp down there if we chose to go in that direction," Mara said, adding on Wednesday that it is also possible the Giants could stay in Albany for another 10 years.
If the Giants did build a training camp facility at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., they would have to build housing for the players, Mara said.
NOTES: The Giants ran goal-line drills for the first time in training camp. The offense scored on the final play when Brandon Jacobs ran over Pro Bowl middle linebacker Antonio Pierce to get into the end zone. ... When linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka and guard Rich Seubert got into a wrestling match on Tuesday, it marked the second straight year to two tangled. Kiwanuka has body slammed Seubert both years. "When you have big guys running at each other consistently, something is going to happen, and no one is going to back down," Kiwanuka said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
