Early Prognosis on Neck Injury Is Favorable for Cowboys’ Irvin

Wearing a protective collar around his neck, Michael Irvin flew home to Irving, Texas, Monday and will await further examinations to determine the severity of his injury.

Early indications suggest the Dallas Cowboy receiver will recover from a swollen spinal cord and herniated disk and play again this season.

Irvin was injured when he was tackled early in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and now the question is how much time he will miss.

“It’s really too hard to tell how long he’s going to be out right now,” trainer Jim Maurer said. “We’re optimistic that Mike will be back this year.”

Irvin, taking medicine to reduce the swelling, will see a Dallas-area spine specialist Wednesday. An MRI will be taken and compared to one made hours after the injury. How much has changed will determine the next step in his treatment.

Exams Sunday showed swelling in the spinal cord in two places near the base of the skull. Maurer said he doesn’t expect the new pictures to show any further damage that may have been obscured by the initial swelling.

“I think they got a pretty good picture of everything he incurred,” Maurer said.

The trainer admitted Monday that Irvin lost some feeling immediately after the injury.

“He had some limitations on the field,” Maurer said. “He didn’t have full motor function and he had pain in his neck.”

Irvin was able to move his hands and feet within 15 minutes, much to the relief of his terrified teammates. He was then strapped to a stretcher and taken to the spinal unit at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, where he spent the night.

By Monday morning, Irvin had regained full use of his motor functions--the most encouraging sign yet.

Ernie Mills will start in Irvin’s place.

Rookie Wane McGarity, who has been inactive the last two weeks, also will get more playing time.

Coach Chan Gailey said the team would still consider adding another receiver if Irvin was going to be out six to eight weeks.

One option is former Cowboy Alvin Harper, who worked out for coaches last week. Harper last played in the NFL in 1997.

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Steve Young’s concussion is more serious than originally thought and as much as the San Francisco 49er quarterback wants to play, there’s no telling when or if his doctors will let him.

So far, they’ve been reluctant to clear him to play and Coach Steve Mariucci said that Young probably will miss his third straight game this week.

“Evidently, they don’t feel this is the appropriate time to let him start banging around,” Mariucci said. “I know we’re all being very conservative and they are too because of the frequency of the concussions. They’re taking their time. They’re trying to make sure that when they say yes, it’s a go.”

Mariucci reiterated that even if Young eventually receives medical clearance, the team may continue to hold him out for an indefinite period just to make sure he’s all right.

Young made it clear he’s anxious to get back on the field but conceded he’s having difficulty persuading his doctors.

“I want to play,” he said. “I don’t want to watch and I’ve got to get cleared. That’s a process that the doctor is going to go through. He’s the one that has to clear me and I’ve got to figure out how to do that.

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Cade McNown’s wait is over, his apprenticeship at quarterback with the Chicago Bears is moving forward. He’ll start his first NFL game Sunday, not necessarily because he’s ready, but because Shane Matthews won’t be.

Matthews, the starter the first five weeks, injured his right hamstring early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 24-22 win at Minnesota. He will undergo an MRI today and will definitely miss this Sunday’s game against the Eagles. “I’m excited to play but not excited that Shane got hurt. That in itself is a terrible thing,” McNown, the No. 12 pick in April’s draft out of UCLA, said. “The situation now is that I have the opportunity to play a lot, and I look forward to it.”

The Bears have been phasing in McNown since the season began, giving him one series in each of the first three games. He played two series the previous week against the Saints and had been in for two more against the Vikings before Matthews got hurt. He was six of eight for 69 yards after replacing Matthews.

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The Cincinnati Bengals activated tackle Jamain Stephens a week after he finished a four-game suspension for substance abuse, and waived linebacker Jimmy Sprotte.