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The Dallas Cowboys defense has gone through a tumultuous last couple weeks, getting gashed on the ground in home losses against the New Orleans Saints (44-19) and the Baltimore Ravens (28-25).

Now, the heartbeat of their defense, three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, is banged up. He departed the Cowboys' "Thursday Night Football" matchup at the New York Giants -- a 20-15 win for Dallas -- on a cart after suffering an apparent lower left leg injury while diving to knock away a pass intended for wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson. 

The Cowboys star defender underwent an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of his ankle injury, and NFL Media later reported that he sustained a high-ankle sprain. 

"Both Micah [ankle] and DeMarcus Lawrence [foot sprain] are getting second opinions ... D-Law's is worse than Micah's," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said on a conference call on Friday. "I don't have a specific timeline, but we'll get into that a little deeper on Monday. ... They are worse than we anticipated."

McCarthy did say he thinks both Parsons and Lawrence and "definitely" be back at some point in the 2024 season. NFL Media has since reported that Parsons is expected to be out for seven to 10 days before being reevaluated, so he is expected to at least miss Dallas' Week 5 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

After the game, Parsons offered an optimistic update on his injury, telling teammate Dak Prescott "I'll be good," via The Athletic. However, Parsons was spotted Friday morning walking extremely gingerly upon the team's return to Dallas, and that was before the MRI results came back.

That play wasn't the first time Parsons suffered an injury on Thursday. He attempted to make a tackle on Robinson on a 5-yard gain in the first half, and he collided head-on with teammate Eric Kendricks, who made the tackle. The Prime Video broadcast showed Parsons going into the blue medical tent to get evaluated for a concussion. 

The Cowboys have a bye week in Week 7, so it's possible that a Week 8 return against San Francisco is a logical return date for the star pass rusher.