Giants' Hixon has torn ACL-- again

Domenik Hixon's juggling catch in the end zone Monday night seemed to signal a new beginning for him. Instead, it was just another ending . . . for him and a team that has become all too used to them.

Hixon tore his right ACL -- the same ligament he tore in spring 2010 that cost him last season -- and will miss the rest of this year. He becomes the latest Giant shelved with the same injury; five other players have torn their ACLs in the last month and a half. He's also the ninth to land on injured reserve and the 15th lost for the season because of injury, a list that, like so many of the Giants, is swelling to uncomfortable proportions.

Tom Coughlin said the buzzword for this year's team after the collapses of late 2010 is "finish.'' In the training room, the word has been tweaked to "finished.''

Hixon said he first felt discomfort in the knee area while making the acrobatic catch. The ball popped off his shoulder pads, and he tipped it twice in the air before securing it for a second-quarter touchdown.

"The first time I put my right leg down, I kind of felt something tighten up," Hixon said, "and then just focused on the ball and made that catch."

Hixon was quickly emerging as one of the Giants' most trustworthy receivers in a group that already was thin on experience and connection with Eli Manning. Hixon appeared to be in line to win the slot job.

"You saw his contribution already with the touchdown catch. Those are the kinds of plays he can bring to us," Manning said of Hixon. "It's unfortunate, but we're going to need some guys to step up. That's why we brought Brandon Stokley in here, and Victor Cruz, and we drafted Jerrel [Jernigan], so we've got guys. We're going to need some young guys to step up and make some plays also. But we still have talented receivers."

Hixon may not be the only one unable to play Sunday against the Eagles. Mario Manningham did not participate in Wednesday's's walk-through because of a concussion he suffered Monday. After complaining of fogginess at halftime, Manningham was examined by team physicians and by independent neurologist Teena Shetty on Tuesday. He underwent the team's protocol for concussions and further testing Wednesday.

"He felt better and he feels better even now,'' Coughlin said, "but he has to go through a whole bunch of things and every one of them has to be signed off on. That is not the case just yet."

That could mean second-year pro Cruz, who caught his first two regular-season passes Monday, could start Sunday.

As for Hixon, he was remarkably upbeat Wednesday, although he still may have been in shock from his diagnosis, which he said caused him to "challenge" the doctors. He described his reaction to the news as "unreal" and "kind of disbelief."

Hixon said he has no knee pain and only slight tightness in his calf, and teammates who see him walking around the facility marvel that his season is over.

"I'm going to come back and be just as fast and just as explosive and just as good," he said. "It's just another chapter to the book, and I hope one day a couple of years from now we're talking about what a great comeback, what a Cinderella story it was."