Giants to be without DE Jason-Pierre Paul for remainder of regular season

— -- New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul?had surgery Wednesday morning to repair a sports hernia and his injured groin and is likely to be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, a source told ESPN.

Recovery time is expected to be at least six weeks, the source said, which would keep Pierre-Paul sidelined until the conference championship round.

It's a huge blow to the Giants (8-4) and Pierre-Paul, who is a free agent at the end of the season. He was enjoying a nice comeback season after losing his right index finger and parts of several others in a Fourth of July weekend fireworks accident last year.

Pierre-Paul posted a picture from the hospital on social media Wednesday morning.

He suffered a groin injury in the loss to the? Pittsburgh Steelers?on Sunday. There was some optimism after an initial MRI that Pierre-Paul didn't have a sports hernia and surgery wasn't necessary. That changed after his visit Tuesday to renowned surgeon Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia.

The Giants, who are preparing for Sunday's NFC East showdown against the Dallas Cowboys, seemed resigned late Tuesday to the fact that they would be without Pierre-Paul for some time.

"Like I said, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough without him," defensive captain and starting linebacker Jonathan Casillas said. "But next person up. We have to move on. It is what it is."

Pierre-Paul, 27, had 53 tackles and seven sacks in 12 games this season. He led the Giants and was second in the NFL with eight batted passes.