ALLEN PARK -- Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell won't divulge much about the health of his team until the NFL-mandated injury report is issued Thursday.

But don't count on rookie linebacker Kyle Van Noy appearing in the season opener next Monday night against the New York Giants -- or in any game for a while.

Van Noy had successful surgery last week for a sports hernia, an injury that typically requires more than a month to heal. Caldwell said Monday that Van Noy "certainly" is a candidate for short-term injured reserve, which would sideline the rookie for at least eight games.

"A lot of it depends on him, in terms of how quickly he heals," Caldwell said. "He just got back last night, so our guys will have a chance to work with him and get a sense of things. That will happen today."

Teams can begin assigning players to short-term IR on Tuesday. Each team can use the list once per season.

This is the same procedure used on Montell Owens last year. Players on short-term IR can return to practice after six weeks, and return to games after eight weeks.

The Lions are off in Week 9, which means if Van Noy goes on short-term IR, he'll be eligible to return Nov. 9 against the Miami Dolphins.

The benefit of such a move is Detroit would be able to sign another player to the 53-man roster. A cornerback would make a lot of sense, after Detroit went with just five -- one fewer than normal -- on its initial roster.

Van Noy was competing for the starting job at strong-side linebacker. Ashlee Palmer repped with the ones there for most of camp, but Tahir Whitehead started the final two preseason games.

Caldwell would not disclose his starter at the position. Depth charts are due out later Monday afternoon.

Caldwell also would not provide an injury update on safety James Ihedigbo, who did not play in the final two exhibitions and did not travel last week to Buffalo.