EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has no desire to shut down his season because of a shoulder injury, but he admits he's already looking forward to putting his physical problems behind him in 2014.

"When I come back next year, I don't think there's going to be a tackle in the league who can stop me," Pierre-Paul said after practice Wednesday.

Pierre-Paul did not actually practice Wednesday, although he did work on the side with trainers, which is more than he was doing last week. He played fewer than half of the club's defensive plays in Week 12 against Dallas and was inactive for Sunday's game in Washington because of the shoulder injury he suffered in the Week 10 victory against the Raiders.

He said it's been frustrating to struggle with the shoulder injury, since it was in Week 10 that he finally felt as though he was back to full strength after offseason back surgery. But the pain he felt in the Dallas game simply wouldn't allow him to function.

"It was painful," Pierre-Paul said. "What I expected to do, I didn't do. It got to a point where I could only go out there on third downs, basically. I'm out there rushing with one arm, and I'm trying. But you get to a point where you can't be Superman. You've got to come out and hope the next guy can do better than you."

Pierre-Paul said he's rehabbing "24/7," including treating the injury when he's away from the facility and at home. He hopes he can avoid surgery because "that would set me back even more," and he said he has no intention of sitting out the final four games of the season if he can help it.

"I'm doing everything I possibly can to put myself back on that field," Pierre-Paul said. "Shutting down is not in my vocabulary. Otherwise, I would have shut it down when I got the injury in the Oakland game. Even if I can get back for one game, that would be worth it to me. I'm not going to be myself until next year. I know that. I was starting to get there before this injury, but the way I feel now, I'm not going to play unless I'm going to be a factor and I know I can protect myself."