ALBANY, N.Y. -- Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks is back at practice for the New York Giants.
Last year's first-round draft pick returned Thursday night, just two days after hyperextending his right knee late in practice.
While Nicks was back for the first full-pads practice, starting center Shaun O'Hara was still out with swelling in his left ankle.
O'Hara hasn't practiced since Sunday, when he ran conditioning drills and participated in a light workout. He has missed six practices.
An MRI showed only swelling around the joint. Giants coach Tom Coughlin hopes to have his 33-year-old center back at practice Monday.
Nicks was hurt when he came down the wrong way on a pass in the end zone Tuesday. He had two MRIs that showed no serious injury.
"I didn't think that there was anything wrong with it, but it was something I wanted to get checked out because for that split-second, I felt a little something," the receiver said. "But I felt like I was fine, and I was relieved when the results came back."
Nicks had 47 receptions for 790 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie last season. He finished third on the team in receptions behind Steve Smith and Mario Manningham.
Nicks is practicing once per day as he comes back from offseason toe surgery.
"The toughest part was just not knowing what was going on and why there was swelling," O'Hara said. "Certainly, the MRI was comforting to know there wasn't anything new or super-serious. We're just kind of taking it day by day to see how it responds now."
O'Hara said the joint problem wasn't arthritis.
"There is obviously wear and tear on any joint when you're in your 12th year in the NFL," the former Rutgers star said. "For whatever reason, it just picked that time to flare up."
Manningham (groin) and backup tight end Travis Beckum (hamstring) missed both practices Thursday. Safety Deon Grant missed the team portion of the evening practice after tweaking his groin during the morning.
Notes: Safety Antrel Rolle capped the evening practice by intercepting an Eli Manning pass in the two-minute drill. Rolle intercepted a Jim Sorgi pass earlier in the workout. ... Veteran WR Derek Hagan has been outstanding during camp. He caught two more deep balls Thursday. ... Second-year OT Will Beatty was ripped by O-line coach Pat Flaherty after missing blocks on two consecutive plays. ... Lawrence Tynes hasn't missed a field-goal attempt at camp, other than the one on which Zak DeOssie airmailed a snap over holder Matt Dodge's head. ... The team ran a nice flea-flicker, with Manning handing off the ball to RB Brandon Jacobs, taking a return pitch and finding Sinorice Moss 25 yards downfield.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
