"Quarterback Brett Favre was the most notable of the Vikings inactives on Monday night, but he certainly wasn't the only sidelined star.

Wide receiver Percy Harvin missed a second consecutive game as he continued to deal with a recurrence of migraine headaches that also kept him out of the Vikings' victory over the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 5.

Harvin's migraines started the Wednesday before the Buffalo game, and he has not practiced since. Harvin entered Monday's game leading the Vikings with 51 receptions for 627 yards and four touchdowns and also had gained 106 yards on 13 carries out of the backfield with one touchdown.

Harvin, who did not travel with the team to Detroit, has missed countless practices because of migraines since joining the Vikings as the team's first-round draft pick in 2009. However, he sat out only one game last season because of the issue.

"We're optimistic. We think we're going to have him back when we get back on Thursday and start our practices again," coach Leslie Frazier said after Monday's 21-3 loss to the Giants.

Harvin also missed much of training camp this season because of migraines. He has dealt with the problem since childhood. The Vikings and Harvin were hopeful that doctors found a breakthrough last summer when Harvin was diagnosed with sleep apnea after a scary incident .

According to the Diseases and Conditions Index website, sleep apnea is a common disorder in which a person has one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while sleeping. Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and often occur five to 30 times or more an hour. Doctors gave Harvin a CPAP machine to wear at night, and he said at the time it had made a 100 percent difference in how he felt."