ARLINGTON - Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Thursday night he expects Pro Bowl linebacker Sean Lee to return to the field in the team's next game at the Giants on Dec. 10.

Lee strained his hamstring on Nov. 12 at Atlanta. Jones said the initial prognosis on Lee had the timetable for his return set for the Giants' game and Lee hasn't had any setbacks.

The Cowboys figured all along that Lee would miss all three games in this 12-day stretch and he has.

The Cowboys lost three consecutive games before defeating Washington on Thursday to get to 6-6 and keep their playoff hopes alive.

"We know we got Sean Lee, got a good chance to get back on the field, so we got a lot of things to look forward to if you see something good you want to do again," Jones said. "We just haven't been seeing anything we wanted to do again for the last three games."