Smith Says Injured Leg Just ‘So-So’ Cowboys’ Star Runner To Work Around Clock To Get Ready

The Emmitt Smith Watch is on.

The Dallas Cowboys have lost three games in the last two years without Smith, but none was as important as Sunday’s NFC championship game against San Francisco in Candlestick Park.

Smith was undergoing roundthe-clock treatment Monday for a “twinge” he felt in his left hamstring during Sunday’s 35-9 playoff romp over Green Bay.

“I feel fine,” Smith said after the game. “It was just a little grabbing sensation in the muscle.”

He wasn’t talking about it much Monday, walking with electrodes attached to his leg. Coach Barry Switzer said Smith told him the leg was “so-so.”

“There’s not much swelling in the leg,” Switzer said. “But I’m not optimistic. I told the team we’re going to win with or without him.”

The Cowboys probably won’t know until the kickoff whether Smith will be able to play on a soggy and slick Candlestick Park field that took a pounding on Saturday when the 49ers beat the Chicago Bears.

A trainer will be staying with Smith all week treating the hamstring muscle that first acted up Nov. 19 against New Orleans. He was out three weeks but couldn’t get past the first quarter against the Packers.

He scored a touchdown on a 5-yard run and had seven carries for 44 yards before he went down on an 8-yard run.

“It doesn’t feel as bad as it did against New Orleans and I’ll be out there (in San Francisco),” Smith said.

Trainer Kevin O’Neill said there wasn’t much change in the condition of the muscle.

“We’ll just have to see how it goes,” he said. “Hamstrings can be tricky.”

The swampy state of Candlestick could tug at Smith’s hamstring and give him instant trouble on his first play from scrimmage.

“I’m not sure how a hamstring reacts in the mud,” Switzer said. “I don’t know whether it would hurt him or not.”

The Cowboys are beat up after the Packers game.

“It’s the most banged up we’ve been all year,” Switzer said. “It couldn’t have come at a worse time, either.”

Offensive linemen Mark Tuinei, Nate Newton and Larry Allen limped off the field against the Packers.

“Emmitt should practice late in the week and we’ll find out what’s going on,” Switzer said. “Maybe he can go five plays or maybe the whole game. Who knows? We’ll have Blair Thomas ready to go.”