Turner not ruling himself out for Giants game

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons running back Michael Turner, who suffered a high ankle sprain against Carolina and will not practice on Wednesday, did not rule himself out for Sunday's game against the New York Giants.

"I don't have a time frame on the injury," Turner told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. "I'm not going to count myself out right now. It's only Wednesday. I'm going to take a couple of days. Later on in the week, I ‘ll know for sure if I'll be able to play or not."

Falcons coach Mike Smith told the New York media in a conference call that Turner would not participate in practice and that he was "day to day."

A few weeks back, Smith said Jerious Norwood was "day to day" with a hip injury. Norwood has missed four games.

Turner, the Falcons leading rusher who helped power them to an 11-5 mark and the playoffs last season, went down early in the second quarter against the Panthers. He had been averaging 9.1 yards per carry over his last three games.

"I've just been doing rehab stuff, basically the stuff that everybody deals with when they have an injury," Turner said. "I just have to keep working at it. But at the same time I have to let it get some rest, too."

Turner's ankle was put through several medical tests on Monday.

"They didn't tell me anything about the tests," Turner said. "Just an ankle sprain. They didn't say no degrees or weeks or anything like that. It's different for every person. They just tell you what it is and you've got to deal with it."

The Falcons also added wide receiver Troy Bergeron back to the practice squad. He was released on Monday to make room for running back Aaron Stecker, who was re-signed to add depth at running back with Turner's injury.

If Turner is unable to play on Sunday, Jason Snelling and  Aaron Stecker  will play. They are hopeful that Jerious Norwood, who has missed the last four games with a hip flexor, is ready to return.