Raiders' Hall may need protective cast on hand

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders cornerback DeAngelo Hall has ligament damage in his right hand and may have to wear a protective cast for the rest of the preseason.
"I talked to my doctor and he said I tore some ligaments or something," Hall said as he walked off the practice field Tuesday. "I don't know. We'll see how it goes."


Hall


Hall was injured in training camp before the preseason started and initially was uncertain how badly his hand was hurt. He underwent an MRI and X-rays which showed no break, but the Raiders had the veteran cornerback seek a second opinion.
When the pain in his hand continued, Hall sought out his own doctor for advice.
"It's something where he still has to wear a cast because of a bruise," Oakland coach Lane Kiffin said. "We think by the time we get to the [season] opener, that it will be a non-issue."
Hall did not play in the Raiders' 17-16 loss to Tennessee on Friday and told a sideline reporter he had been diagnosed with a torn tendon. He returned to practice two days later and was back on the field Tuesday, but said the injury was a torn ligament.
Hall practiced with his hand wrapped in a thick white brace that separated his thumb from his index and middle fingers, which were taped together, but it didn't completely help.
Hall, who signed a $70 million, seven-year contract with the Raiders after being acquired in a trade from Atlanta during the offseason, broke up a pass play by swatting the ball away but winced noticeably and clutched his right hand as he walked off the field. He later broke up two more pass plays and missed an interception without any obvious pain.
Kiffin intends to play his starters into the second half of Saturday night's game against Arizona, but the plans might be different for Hall. The Raiders expect him to be available, but aren't sure how long he will play.
"The problem is he's got to wear that cast throughout all these practices and probably will still have to have it on this week," Kiffin said. "It's hard to tackle. It's hard to be a corner with a cast on, but it's the situation that it is and we'll make the best of it."
Hall's doctors informed him he won't require surgery and may be able to play without the cast when the Raiders open the regular season against Denver on Sept. 8. That's encouraging news for the Raiders, who don't have much depth at cornerback behind Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha.
"There's nothing telling us that there's going to be surgery," Kiffin said. "Everything tells us that he's going to be OK for the opener. We think that it will be over by then."
Notes

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski (hamstring) and punter Shane Lechler (quad) were held out of practice and likely will sit out the game against the Cardinals. ... Wide receiver Arman Shields (knee), linebacker Grant Irons (lower back), cornerback John Bowie (knee) and safety Hiram Eugene (hip) also did not practice.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press