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Miami Gardens, Fla. - Sam Shields isn't realy sure about his left knee except for one thing.

"It hurts," the Packers cornerback said after being forced from the Packers' 27-24 victory over the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium.

Shields was walking on his own after the game, but he has a knee injury that the Packers will have to re-examine when they return home. Shields said the doctors told him it was the patellar tendon injury.

Asked if he they told him it was torn, which would be a season-ending injury, Shields said no.

"I doubt it," he said. "I don't think so."

Typically a ruptured patellar results in a disclocated knee cap and is season-ending. But the way Shields went down in the third quarter raises some concern for the Packers.

"It came out of nowhere," Shields said. "I don't know what happened."

Shields was milling about with the other defensive backs before the first play of a Dolphins series that started with 3:44 left in the third. He started to jog out to his left corner position, then all of a sudden pulled up and started hopping on his right leg.

He turned around and started to walk across the field toward the Packers bench when the Dolphins broke their huddle. He saw that WR Mike Wallace was going to be wide open, so he spun around and started to jog back to his position.

Realizing he couldn't play, he raised his arm and then dropped to his backside. Teammates Tramon Williams and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix alertly signaled for timeout.

"He said all of a sudden it happened," said cornerback Casey Hayward. "I'm not sure what happened."

Davon House wound up coming in to replace Shields in the base defense, but a short time later, Hayward found himself there also when one play later Williams injured his left ankle when teammate Brad Jones landed on the back of his legs.

That was it for Williams.

The Packers played the rest of the game without both Shields and Williams. Hayward took over for Williams and Jarrett Bush wound up playing the nickel slot position.

"We're always told, you have to be ready at all times," said Hayward, who earlier in the game had an interception. "You never know, especially in these conditions, especially when it's so hot. You just never know when your number is going to be called."

Coach Mike McCarthy did not release any information on the severity of Williams and Shields' injuries but the fact they couldn't finish doesn't bode well for their status next week.