THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996          TAG: 9609190543
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: ASHBURN, VA.                      LENGTH:   58 lines

SKINS' WESTBROOK IS OUT 3-6 WEEKS KNEE INJURY SIDELINES WIDE RECEIVER FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN HIS TWO PRO SEASONS.

Playing professional football continues to make Michael Westbrook weak in the knees.

The Washington Redskins announced Wednesday that the wide receiver will miss the next 3-6 weeks after suffering a tear to his left posterior cruciate ligament in Sunday's 31-10 victory over the New York Giants.

``Another setback,'' a dejected Westbrook said after his fourth injury in one-plus season as a professional, the third to a knee. ``I don't want this to turn into something that's going to linger throughout my career. Hopefully, it will go away.''

Last year, the former No. 1 draft choice missed five games with a knee/ankle problem; he missed a couple of days of training camp last summer when he threw his back out after slipping on wet grass. He tore his posterior cruciate ligament in a preseason game against Detroit in August, which forced him out of the season opener.

Now this.

``It's frustrating when any player's hurt and not out there at full speed,'' coach Norv Turner said. ``But it's hardest when he is a young player who's not able to develop the way he's capable of developing. Guys like that need every rep they can get.''

Third-down specialist Leslie Shepherd will start for Westbrook. Veteran Bill Brooks, signed as a free agent from Buffalo during the offseason, will move up to third-down receiver, Turner said.

Westbrook was injured with 1:12 left in the first quarter Sunday. He and a New York cornerback got their legs tangled as Westbrook tried to run a slant pattern. When the former No. 1 pick from Colorado hit the turf at Giants Stadium, he heard a ``pop'' in his knee. After sitting out a couple of series, Westbrook returned to the game and played the rest of the way, though mostly as a decoy.

Monday, he met with trainer Bubba Tyer, who examined his leg and found minimal swelling. Westbrook did some leg exercises after the exam, then went home. While watching the Buffalo-Pittsburgh game Monday night, he looked at his knee and noticed it suddenly was so swollen that he couldn't bend it.

He called Tyer on Tuesday and was sent to Arlington Hospital, where an MRI revealed the latest tear. Tyer said Westbrook will put in about eight hours a day of rehabilitation at Redskin Park and use a portable electric stimulation unit at home. He also probably will insist that Westbrook wear a knee brace in games the first few weeks he is back, then discard it as the knee grows stronger.

Tyer denied that Westbrook was injured because the Redskins rushed him back into the lineup.

``There's some risk involved, yes,'' he said. ``But this last time, he went through all stages of rehabilitation, and for two weeks, we didn't even treat Mike. We watched him in practice for two weeks and he was running, catching, blocking. He did it all, without pain, without a problem.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Michael Westbrook by CNB