HOUSTON -- The bookends of the Houston Texans offensive line had been considered one of the expansion team's few true strengths. Now it appears tackles Tony Boselli and Ryan Young will be watching from the sidelines when the team lines up for its inaugural regular season game.

The team already knew star left tackle Tony Boselli was highly doubtful for the home opener against Dallas on Sept. 8. The Texans revealed Wednesday that Ryan Young, set to anchor the right end of the line, will miss a month or two after undergoing surgery on his left groin muscle Thursday.

Young began having problems with the muscle last week, and said Wednesday rest wasn't making it better.

"It wasn't progressing right, so they went in and took a look and found out what happened,'' Young said.

What happened, he said, was that the muscle had partially torn away, taking a piece of bone with it. But doctors have assured him the surgery should fully correct the problem and he is hopeful he'll return in four to six weeks.

Texans coach Dom Capers estimated Young would be out six to eight weeks, meaning Young might miss all of September.

"Injuries happen, you have to move on,'' Capers said. "The fortunate thing is we've got four more preseason games for these (backups) to work together.''

Further hampering the line's depth is a right knee injury to backup tackle Max Lane, who underwent arthroscopic surgery Tuessday. His return date is unknown.

And in Wednesday night's practice, Capers said backup center Chris Lorenti went down with an Achilles injury that might require further examination if it doesn't improve overnight.

Chester Pitts, a rookie taken in the second round who had never played organized football until walking on at San Diego State in 1998, is slated to fill Boselli's spot and will be responsible for guarding the back of star rookie quarterback David Carr.

Jimmy Herndon, a Houston-area native and seventh-year veteran who saw time with the Chicago Bears last season on special teams and in short-yardage situations, would start in place of Young if the season were to begin now.

"We drafted Chester Pitts for a reason, and he's going to be OK at left tackle,'' offensive line coach Tony Marciano said. "Jimmy Herndon did a fine job the other night (in the preseason opener against the Giants). I have no qualms about those guys.''

While the makeshift first-team unit didn't yield any sacks to New York, Marciano noted the Giants played their defensive starters for just one series and ran a "vanilla'' defensive scheme.

Carr, the No. 1 overall draft choice, tried to take the injuries in stride but acknowledged the losses.

"It's tough, because they're good football players,'' Carr said of Boselli and Young. "You don't want to miss those guys.''

Both injured linemen came to the Texans in the expansion draft. Boselli had spent all seven years of his NFL career in Jacksonville, while Young is entering his fourth season after three years with the New York Jets.

Notes
Safety Leomont Evans, who was rendered motionless after bruising his spinal cord when he hit a Giants blocker headfirst during a punt rush in Monday's Hall of Fame game, returned to Houston on Wednesday. He was released from a hospital in Canton, Ohio, where the game was played. ... Wide receiver Trevor Insley underwent successful surgery Tuesday after breaking his left ankle Monday against New York. Insley will miss the season. ... The team Wednesday unveiled special license plates, featuring the team's logo on the left and "Houston Texans'' along the bottom. Of the $35 fee, $25 goes to pay down the $317 million bond debt used to build Reliant Stadium. ... After Wednesday night's practice, players serenaded Capers with "Happy Birthday'' as he turned 52, then doused him with a bucket of icewater.