National Football League

Umenyiora to get bad knee checked

Published Aug. 6, 2011 1:56 p.m. ET

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New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora will undergo medical tests on the apparently sore left knee that he claims has made him unable to train amid his contract dispute with the team.

Umenyiora again hit the stationary bicycle Friday night for some light pedaling while the rest of the Giants worked on the field, the New York Post reported Saturday.

The tests should determine whether the knee really is hurting or if it is Umenyiora's pride and wallet that are ailing.

"The Giants' doctors are looking at it," Tony Agnone, Umenyiora's agent, said Friday night. "I don't speak for [head trainer] Ronnie Barnes or [team physician] Russ Warren. They're the best in the business."

Umenyiora has broached the possibility of going under the knife to repair some cartilage damage.

"I'm not a doctor," Agnone said of the possibility of surgery. "I have total confidence in those guys."

Tom Coughlin said he was aware of the knee issue that Umenyiora says is preventing him from participating in practice, calling the problem "a concern" and characterizing the situation as "day-to-day until we see how that is."

Umenyiora already hit the Giants with a pay-me-or-trade-me ultimatum. Now that the Giants have called off any trade talk, the issue is whether they will give Umenyiora enough of a raise on his $3.1 million salary to appease him.

That is unlikely, considering that he views himself as a $10 million player, and the Giants do not have the salary-cap room or the desire to up the ante so steeply on a 29-year-old defensive end with two major surgeries in the past four years.

Agnone confirmed negotiations were still fluid, though, saying, "We are always dialoguing."

Co-owner John Mara on Wednesday told The Post that he hoped the situation could be rectified and that Umenyiora could remain a Giant for the rest of his career.

"I don't think there's anybody that doesn't hope that," Agnone said. "That's the endgame, always."

Agnone added, "I feel Osi has made a good-faith gesture to the Giants, absolutely," but would not elaborate on what that gesture was.

A financial compromise might be impossible to reach, considering that there are acrimony, distrust and salary cap issues to resolve. The Giants are considering punishing Umenyiora for conduct detrimental to the team. A few fans attending practice Friday night shouted, "Honor your contract!" as Umenyiora pedaled away on the bike.