A year ago, Marcus Spears suffered a sprain MCL on the final full workout of the San Antonio portion of training camp, and missed the entire preseason.
As a rookie in 2005 he suffered a right knee and ankle sprain, and also strained his calf during camp in Oxnard, Calif., missing three preseason games, and in 2006 he injured the knee again and missed part of the exhibition schedule.
He said this year's preseason injury, a groin strain suffered against San Diego on Sunday, isn't so bad, and won't be too much of a setback heading into the season despite the fact he'll be out for the continued installation of Rob Ryan's defense.
"It's not necessarily easier," Spears said. "I think anytime you're missing, especially part of practice at this time, you kind of miss a little bit. Especially when you have stuff going in that you have never played before. But it attributes to being a vet, and being able to learn things mentally, and being able to translate them to the field, and I'll be able to do that. It won't be a problem."
Spears didn't require any further testing for the extent of the injury, which he says is minor, and wouldn't cause him to miss any games if it were the regular season.
"Just a muscle strain," Spears said. "It's one of those situations. I've been injured a few times, so I know how to handle it."
