Hobbled by groin injury, Clinton Portis does not expect to play in Redskins' game against the Packers

Running back Clinton Portis does not expect to play against the Green Bay Packers because of a groin injury but hopes to return to the Redskins' lineup soon, he said in a radio interview Tuesday.

During his weekly appearance on The Mike Wise Show with Holden Kushner on 106.7 The Fan, Portis said he had not yet received the results of an MRI exam of his groin, which he injured Sunday in the Redskins' 17-12 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Despite repeatedly leaving the game because of the injury, Portis was effective against the Eagles, rushing for 55 yards (with a 5.0-yard average) and catching two passes for 26 yards. While addressing reporters Monday afternoon, Coach Mike Shanahan said that the Redskins "should find something out within the next couple of hours, one way or the other. The MRI will come in and we'll see what happens."

But Portis said he expects to be sidelined for the Week 5 matchup against the Packers at FedEx Field. "I don't think the team would even let me attempt to go and try to play on Sunday," he said.

Portis said this is the first groin injury he has suffered in his career, but he quickly dismissed speculation he could be sidelined for several weeks. "It's bothering me," Portis said. "It's stiff and moving and rolling around hurt. . . . I'll take my time to make sure I'm healed and I'll try to get back out and help my teammates."

A week after Portis stirred criticism for going down without being touched on a 27-yard run against the St. Louis Rams, he was widely praised, including by Shanahan, for running hard against the Eagles.

"I don't worry about my toughness, man," Portis said. "I stand in the hole, week in, week out. D lineman, linebackers, secondary blitzers, or anybody else that's coming through there, and [I] put my head up in there. So I wasn't worried about my toughness."

Young back Ryan Torain, who finished with a game-high 70 yards rushing, did an outstanding job, Portis said. "He ran over a safety in the hole. . . . He lowered the boom to him. Once you get going, I think the team feed off of that. When Ryan scored that touchdown and made that play, I think that ignited our team."

In his Monday meeting with the media, Shanahan said little about Portis's injury, but in an interview later that day with Comcast SportsNet, he expressed his worries.

"Any time he goes out like he did and puts street clothes on during a game, I'm concerned," Shanahan said. "I know him. I've been around him too long. He's going to play hurt. Hopefully, the MRI is not as bad as I think it might be. Just have to keep our fingers crossed."

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(washingtonpost.com)