L.T. COULD BE SIDELINED SUNDAY: There was the strained groin in 2004, the lingering rib injury in 2005, a jaw injury in 2006, the knee injury in last year's playoffs and then his jammed right big toe earlier this season.

Now there's the groin injury that's dogging LaDainian Tomlinson to the point that he might have to sit out the San Diego Chargers' playoff game at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

The star running back isn't sure if a week's worth of treatment and rest is going to be enough to allow him to play.

"I don't know. It's tough," Tomlinson said after the Chargers' light workout on Monday. "This is a tough injury. I would probably venture to say it's probably the toughest of my career. We'll see what happens."

The injury, sustained in the final regular-season game, robbed Tomlinson of his burst and shiftiness to the point that he came out of Saturday night's 23-17 overtime wild-card win over the Indianapolis Colts after scoring on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter.