Chris McAlister said last night that he has been told by the Ravens that he will miss three weeks with a strained right knee, but the Pro Bowl cornerback wouldn't rule out returning for the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 5.

McAlister acknowledged that the knee has bothered him the past couple of weeks.

"I just decided to work through it because we had a lot of injuries," McAlister said. "I'm glad we have the bye week [Oct. 28]."

McAlister, 30, did not miss any snaps in Sunday's 22-3 win over the St. Louis Rams, and it only became known that he had a knee injury Monday, when the Ravens said he was day-to-day.

Yesterday, ESPN Radio 1300 said McAlister would miss four to five weeks with a torn posterior cruciate ligament.

Asked whether he would miss the Steelers game, McAlister said: "I wouldn't say that."

On his weekly show on WBAL Radio, coach Brian Billick seemed more optimistic than McAlister about the injury.

He indicated that McAlister is "doubtful" for Sunday's game at Buffalo and sounded positive about McAlister's chances of playing after the bye.

"It's my understanding that there's a strong likelihood he will be available for Pittsburgh," Billick said. "I don't know that he won't be available this weekend."

Billick disputed the report on ESPN Radio.

"That's not accurate," he said. "Chris has a knee strain as it's been characterized. I don't know the actual degree. I think people are kind of making things up."

If McAlister is out Sunday, the Ravens likely would replace him with Corey Ivy, who has started four games this season.

jamison.hensley@baltsun.com mike.preston@baltsun.com