INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Dungy expects at least five Indianapolis Colts starters to miss Sunday's game against the Houston Texans because of injuries.
On Wednesday, two days after team president Bill Polian ruled out receiver Marvin Harrison (knee) and right tackle Ryan Diem (knee), Dungy added three more names to the list. Defensive tackle Raheem Brock (ribs), safety Antoine Bethea (knee) and defensive end Robert Mathis (knee) are all expected to sit out for the second straight week.
"I don't think they'll play either because anyone who is hurt isn't going to play," Dungy said.
None of the five practiced on Wednesday.
Linebacker Clint Session (ankle) and tight end Ben Utecht (shoulder) also sat out Wednesday. Receiver Craphonso Thorpe also missed practice with an illness. Dungy was more optimistic that Utecht would play on Sunday, and Polian said on his weekly radio show Monday night that Session might be available.
Harrison is expected to miss his ninth straight game since bruising his left knee, even though Polian said Monday that the knee is healed.
"It's a matter of conditioning now, and until we can put him out there for 60 plays a game, he won't play," Polian said.
Diem has missed four straight games and has been replaced in the lineup by Charlie Johnson.
If Brock and Mathis don't play, it would mark the second straight week Indianapolis (12-2) used a completely different defensive line than the one they opened training camp with. Defensive tackle Anthony McFarland (knee) and defensive end Dwight Freeney (foot) have already been lost for the season because of injuries.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
