Green Bay Packers officials and a source close to Chad Clifton confirmed to ESPN.com on Tuesday that the third-year veteran, injured in Sunday's loss at Tampa Bay when hit by Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp on an interception, will miss the balance of the season.

Packers coach Mike Sherman, who confronted Sapp after the game, hinted in his postgame interview that the team's starting left offensive tackle might be out for a prolonged period. He reiterated those concerns on Monday and that proved to be the case.

Clifton remained in a Tampa-area hospital Wednesday with a serious pelvis injury. He is in severe pain and can't yet walk, but fears of spinal damage have being alleviated, Sherman said.

"The numbness that he has may have been the result of spasms or possible disc (damage),'' Sherman said.

The former Tennessee standout, a second-round selection in the 2000 draft, suffered torn ligaments in his hip, and substantial bleeding into the pelvis, and there is some suspicion of spinal damage as well. At this point, the injuries are not considered career-threatening, but there will be further tests and Clifton faces a long rehabilitation.

The play on which he was injured occured in the third quarter, on an interception by cornerback Brian Kelly, and far removed from the action. Video showed that Sapp launched himself into the unsuspecting Clifton, who had his head turned, and appeared to be slowing down.

The hit, of course, precipitated a well-documented confrontation between Sherman and Sapp just minutes after the game.

With the injury to Clifton, the Packers will be forced to finish the year without both of their starting offensive tackles. Right tackle Mark Tauscher already is sidelined by a knee injury. It further weakens an already battered offensive line, one in which starting right guard Marco Rivera is playing with a torn knee ligament.

Starting center Mike Flanagan, who has moved to left tackle on other occasions when Clifton was injured this year, likely will start there the rest of the season. Longtime veteran Frank Winters probably will move in as the starting center.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.