Rams' Warner out 8-to-10 weeks

ST. LOUIS - Kurt Warner will be sidelined 8-to-10 weeks with a broken pinkie on his throwing hand, the latest blow for the winless St. Louis Rams. <br> <br> The two-time MVP was injured in the first quarter of Sunday&#39;s 13-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, which dropped the defending NFC champions to 0-4, their worst start since 1963. Warner will have surgery Tuesday. <br> <br> ``He&#39;s very upset, but he understands,&#39;&#39; coach Mike Martz said. ``There&#39;s nothing you can do about it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Two years ago, Warner had surgery on the same finger on his right hand and missed five games. <br> <br> It will take longer for him to heal this time because it&#39;s a compound fracture. Martz described the injury as a ``T-shaped break at the base of the finger.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Warner will have pins inserted into his pinkie and should begin moving the finger in about a month. The pins will come out after five weeks and X-rays will monitor the healing process during rehab. <br> <br> ``There is a risk that if you go back too soon, even though you&#39;re feeling good, that you can recrack the bone,&#39;&#39; said Dr. Matt Matava, one of the Rams&#39; orthopedic surgeons. <br> <br> Warner landed on his hand after he was hit during a safety blitz by Roy Williams and his pass was intercepted by the Cowboys&#39; Greg Ellis. That was Warner&#39;s eighth interception of the season, to go with just one touchdown pass. <br> <br> Warner is 14th in the NFC and 25th in the NFL in passer rating at 66.4, even though he&#39;s completed 70.1 percent of his passes, best in the conference. <br> <br> Backup quarterback Jamie Martin&#39;s wife, Kelly, gave birth to the couple&#39;s second child Monday morning. Martz said Martin was supposed to come in and review game tape later in the day. <br> <br> Martz said the Rams were close to signing another quarterback, but only to back up Martin and Marc Bulger. <br> <br> Martin, who was 24-for-37 for 262 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Dallas, will make his second career start in nine NFL seasons Sunday in San Francisco. <br> <br> Martin separated his shoulder in the preseason opener and didn&#39;t play for the rest of the preseason. In the regular season, Warner had been getting almost all of the snaps. <br> <br> ``I was trying to be cautious and trying to figure out exactly what he felt comfortable with, but he had an awful lot of success for a guy who hasn&#39;t done any of this stuff,&#39;&#39; Martz said. <br> <br> ``I just believe in him. I know he can do it, and I know our players believe in him.&#39;&#39;

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