Kenny Phillips expected back Monday

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York Giants may need to build a hospital wing here at the University at Albany for all their injured players, but head coach Tom Coughlin could get one major player back on Monday.

Safety Kenny Phillips is expected to come off the physically unable-to-perform list and make his long-anticipated return to the field for practice next week.

"Monday, they're saying ... I think so," Coughlin said when asked when Phillips will return.

Coughlin also will have center Shaun O'Hara back on Monday. O'Hara has a chronic condition in his left ankle and the team has been trying to get the swelling down since Sunday night.

Phillips, though, has been rehabbing for almost a year to get back on the field. The team's star safety hasn't played football since intercepting Tony Romo twice in Dallas last Sept. 20. A few days later, Phillips underwent microfracture surgery on a degenerative condition in his left knee called patellofemoral arthritis.

The optimistic Phillips, 23, has been saying all along that he will return stronger and quell all doubts about his knee. His goal was to practice on the first day of training camp, but the team placed Phillips on the PUP list to be extra cautious and make sure he takes it slow.
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Honestly I feel real good about it," Phillips said on Sunday about his knee. "It's tested, not football tested, but as far as cutting and doing drills and running, I have been doing this for almost the whole offseason. So I am not worried about being in any pain when I do start. Just got to get used to playing football again."

And when he does, Phillips says he will be better than before. General manager Jerry Reese said Phillips played at less than 100 percent at the start of last season, when he had 16 tackles and two interceptions in two games before undergoing season-ending surgery.

"We think Kenny Phillips is going to be the starter when we play Carolina," Reese said of the Giants' Week 1 matchup. "We expect him to be the starter out there."

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(espn.com)