Manning injuries not severe

INDIANAPOLIS - The blue brace on Peyton Manning's right knee was not a pretty picture Sunday at the Indianapolis Colts practice.\nBut it was a welcome relief.\n"I was pretty fortunate," Manning said. "That is the type of play where you can be hurt pretty seriously. The thing that I thought saved me was that, when I followed through, I was on my toe instead of being planted. If I'd have been firmly planted, it might have been worse."\nFortunately for the Colts, Manning survived the scare Friday night with just a couple of nicks, a slight sprain of his right knee and what Manning called a sprained right ankle.\nCoach Jim Mora reiterated that as a precaution Manning, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, will not play Thursday night in the Colts' preseason finale at Cincinnati.\nAnd Manning, who has never missed a start in a preseason, regular season or postseason game, agreed.\n"I feel like I could play if I needed to, but right now, you have to rest up," he said. "I'll do some things this week."\nInjuries are not something Manning is accustomed to.\nHe did not miss a start in high school or college before joining the Colts, and his streak of 48 consecutive starts is second-longest among quarterbacks. Green Bay's Brett Favre has started 141 consecutive games.\nManning's health has been so good that, other than the five-day contract holdout his rookie season, Manning said he had missed practice only one other time, during bowl week of his senior season at Tennessee.\n"I had a perfect practice streak going for three years," Manning said. "So I wish I would have been out there today. If it was the regular season, I probably would have been."\nAs it was, Manning threw during some drills Sunday but spent most of the practice throwing on the side and pacing.\nThe injury occurred just before halftime Friday when Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Chris Hovan spun away from rookie guard Ryan Diem and rolled into Manning's right leg. The leg bent awkwardly and Manning immediately reached for the knee.\nManning finished the drive, then returned for the second half in street clothes, with ice wrapped around his knee and ankle.\nNeither Manning nor Mora thought the hit warranted league action.\n"He was being blocked and he was trying to sack the quarterback, which is what he's supposed to do," said Mora, a former defensive coordinator. "He just kind of fell into him."\nInitially, Manning wasn't as worried about the knee as he was the ankle.\nFollowing the game, Manning said the ankle was stiffer and causing him more pain.\nWhen the Colts returned to Indianapolis on Saturday, Manning had an MRI, which revealed the sprained knee and sent the Colts into a precautionary mode.\n"I was very pleased with that," Mora said of the diagnosis. "We talked to the doctors the night before and they told us they thought it was a mild sprain. When I saw Peyton yesterday, it didn't seem too bad, but he won't play this week."\nManning will be replaced by backup Mark Rypien, who signed with the Colts on July 31 after being out of football for three seasons.\nRypien, who has had two impressive performances in the first three Colts games, said he can use the work.\n"It's a chance for me and Billy Joe (Hobert) to get some work, and we need it," Rypien said. "It's unfortunate what happened to Peyton, but we're fortunate it happened in a circumstance where he can take a week off"