NFL

Giants’ Phillips out for season

Just how good has Kenny Phillips been for the Giants in his second season?

“He’s been tearing it apart, man,” linebacker Danny Clark said. “I’m such a fan of that guy. He’s really an impact player on our defense.”

The defense has to learn to find an impact elsewhere. The Giants suffered a major blow yesterday when Phillips was placed on season-ending injured reserve after it was determined that he could not continue playing with what has been diagnosed as patellofemoral arthritis in his left knee.

GIANTS BLOG

A rising star at free safety, Phillips is coming off a sensational performance in Dallas, intercepting two Tony Romo passes. Those will be the final contributions from Phillips, as the Giants try to figure a way to move on without him.

“It never crossed my mind, ever,” Phillips said of missing the season. “I knew the situation. I just felt I could push it through the season. So to get this news is a real shock.”

An arthritic condition in such a young athlete is ominous. Phillips is 22. The course of treatment has not been decided upon. If he needs surgery it likely would be a difficult micro-fracture procedure. The Giants do not view this as a career-threatening injury.

To replace Phillips on the roster, the Giants picked up safety Aaron Rouse off waivers from the Packers. Rouse, a starter the first two games, was released on Wednesday. C.C. Brown, signed this off-season after four years with the Texans, moves up into a starting role alongside strong safety Michael Johnson.

“Our concerns are about Kenny from an emotional standpoint, because this morning he looked like he’d lost his best friend,” coach Tom Coughlin said. “He’s really down. But it’s something the doctors felt was needed to be corrected right now.”

This comes as a shock but not as a surprise, if that makes any sense. The Giants since training camp talked about “managing” Phillips’ knee condition, and he was on a once-a-week practice schedule.

“Everybody gets nicks and bruises in training camp, so that’s just what I thought it was,” Phillips said. “Swelling occurred, but most people get swelling. As long as it goes down, it’s not a big deal.”

Clearly, it is a big deal, but that didn’t stop Phillips from playing the best game of his two-year career in Dallas. In addition to the two interceptions, Phillips is tied for the team lead with 16 tackles.

“We were very excited about what we thought could be a Pro Bowl year for our free safety,” Coughlin said.

An examination on Wednesday and an MRI exam revealed the patellofemoral arthritis in Phillips’ left knee had worsened.

“I am only in year two, so I feel this is the right decision,” Phillips said. “Longevity is the key, so this is why we are going through with it.”

Replacing Phillips most likely will be impossible.

“Kenny, I look at him as like a Pro Bowl status player, even though he hasn’t earned that yet,” Johnson said.

“Huge player for us,” added Antonio Pierce.

Already, the defense has lost Jay Alford, a valuable reserve defensive tackle. The defense also is playing without cornerbacks Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery and most likely will be forced to face the Buccaneers without end Justin Tuck, who has an injury to the labrum in his left shoulder.

Given the dearth of safeties, Rouse in certain packages is going to have to play right away.

A 2007 third-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, he’s a third-year player who played in 27 games (11 starts) for the Packers. He had nine tackles Sunday in Green Bay’s 31-24 loss to the Bengals, but the Packers decided to let him go. Last season, he had a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown against Peyton Manning.

“You’re not asking them to come in and play the whole game,” defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan said. “You can get him up to snuff very quickly.”

paul.schwartz@nypost.com