The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac  reports today that Steelers' corner Ike Taylor will likely miss the next three weeks following surgery to repair his injured left thumb. Taylor injured himself in the Steelers' preseason loss to the Redskins on Friday.

Dulac says the team hopes to have Taylor to be back for the Steelers' season opener against Baltimore on Sept. 11 against the Ravens.

This is obviously a tough blow to a squad already hit by the injury bug early in the preseason. Taylor is a big piece of the Steelers' defense as a starting corner, and if his recovery time does drag out into the regular season, this injury will be a real concern. The Ravens will throw Pro Bowl caliber receiver Anquan Boldin at the Steelers in week one, and the Seahawks will deploy Mike Williams and Sidney Rice in week two. If Pittsburgh is to shut them down, it will want Taylor in the fray helping out. Fortunately, Taylor is a veteran and should be able to bounce back quickly once he's cleared to return.