Rosevelt Colvin joins the list of walking wounded heading into Sunday’s game against the Jets.

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was definite about one thing: Linebacker Rosevelt Colvin will miss the next game with a hip injury. If Belichick knew the exact nature of the injury or how long Colvin would be out, he wasn’t saying.

Belichick rarely gives details of injuries and said first that Colvin was hurt in the upper leg area before modifying that to “more in the hip area.” Coaches are wary of having opposing teams learn such details.

Given the importance of Colvin, who led the Chicago Bears in sacks each of the past two years, coupled with the fact that the Patriots lost key defenders Lawyer Milloy and Ted Johnson already this season, Belichick was being pressed for information.

“What do you want me to tell you?” he told a persistent reporter at his regular Wednesday news conference. “It could be six weeks, it could be 12 weeks, it could be three weeks, it could be eight weeks. Take whichever one you want. That’s why they’re doing more tests.”

So the left hip injury suffered in the second quarter at Philadelphia last Sunday will sideline Colvin for the Patriots’ home opener Sunday against the New York Jets. But will he be back for New England’s game the following Sunday at Washington?

“I don’t know exactly how long he’ll be out. He won’t play this week,” Belichick said.

Asked what was wrong with the hip, Belichick said he wasn’t concerned with the specific nature of the injury, just how much time Colvin would miss.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “You can be as belligerent as you want about it. I can’t give you any more information.”

In a calm locker room, it was business as usual for the Patriots – another week, another missing defender.

On the Tuesday before the season opener at Buffalo, they released safety Milloy. In that game, linebacker Johnson broke a bone in his foot that could sideline him for half the season.

Then Colvin, who already had two sacks this season, was hurt when he recovered a fumble by Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb.

“It’s tough on a team because if you could replace them that easily then they wouldn’t be starters,” safety Rodney Harrison said. “We will be tested now and we have to see what we’re made of because those are three difficult losses for us.”

Willie McGinest replaced Colvin and sacked McNabb twice. He’s expected to start against the Jets. Roman Phifer got his first start of the year against Philadelphia as Johnson’s replacement at inside linebacker.

Fortunately for the Patriots, linebacker is one of their deepest positions.

McGinest, a first-round draft pick in 1994, lost his starting position in 2001 but started 10 games last season. In his first nine seasons, he had 57 sacks.

“He’s still a good pass rusher,” defensive end Richard Seymour said. “He’s filling in but he could easily be a starter in the league.”

Without Johnson and Colvin, the other starting linebackers are Tedy Bruschi on the inside and Mike Vrabel outside.

“It’s sort of similar to when Ted went down,” Bruschi said of losing Colvin. “You just slide somebody up and you expect them to do the job.”

Phifer said Colvin’s absence won’t change the game plan, and Harrison believes talk about the absent players will subside if the Patriots are successful.

“It has to come down to winning,” Harrison said, “and if you’re losing then people start questioning, you know, “What about Rosevelt?’ you know, “What about Lawyer? What about Ted?”

So, coach, what about Rosevelt?

“He’s not playing this week,” Belichick said. “So you can write whatever you want to write, make it however long you want to make it. I don’t know. I can’t verify it one way or another.”

AP-ES-09-17-03 1815EDT