"The Giants have lost one of their prime defensive players and pass rushers for at least Sunday's game, with Mathias Kiwanuka suddenly forced to the sidelines with a bulging cervical disc.

The Giants announced the news late Friday afternoon. The team said it does not know how Kiwanuka got hurt or how long he'll be out.

"It's disappointing. It just feels like a stiff neck," Kiwanuka said, according to The Associated Press. "The pain is not intolerable but I want to make sure that I will be OK down the line. I have full trust in the medical staff and the trainers at the Giants. I'm going to do everything that is asked of me so when I'm cleared I'll be back and ready to go."

The defensive end complained of a stiff neck at Thursday's practice and had an MRI exam that night. He took part in Friday's practice, intentionally avoiding contact to the area.

Afterward, he was sent for a CT scan and consulted with a spine specialist, which resulted in the diagnosis of a bulging disc.

Kiwanuka leads the Giants with four sacks. Nobody else on the team has more than one.

Speaking after practice, Tom Coughlin did not reveal that Kiwanuka would not be available to face the Bears.

"I think he's playing well," the coach said. "I just think that what we would do is continue to rotate all of our available defensive ends so that Jason (Pierre-Paul) perhaps would get some more work." "