NY Giants Lose David Diehl To Right Thumb Surgery, Out Six Weeks

After injuring his right thumb during practice a few days ago, New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl said he didn't think it was anything too serious and that he could play through the pain by simply wearing a cast. But after second thought, according to Giants.com senior writer Michael Eisen, Dr. Robert Hotchkiss has decided it is in Diehl's best interests to have surgery, which will bench him for about six weeks.

Diehl is the second member of the Giants' offensive line to go down with an injury during training camp, as starting center David Baas suffered a sprained MCL, putting him on the shelf for 3-6 weeks. Even though Baas is trying to be back for Week 1 action in a couple of weeks against the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants coaching staff had done some shuffling by moving Diehl from right tackle to left guard, shifting Kevin Boothe from left guard to center and placing rookie Justin Pugh at Diehl's usual right tackle spot.

With the 32-year-old Diehl likely on the shelf until early October, that means James Brewer, Brandon Mosley or Selvish Capers will move up on the depth chart, as both Brewer and Capers will get the first opportunity to impress on the first team offense. The direction head coach Tom Coughlin will take in filling Diehl's slot is uncertain though, as Brewer is listed on the depth chart as the backup right guard, Mosley is the third string right guard and Capers the backup left guard.