Chad Pennington

Wearing a bandage on the bridge of his nose and a solemn expression, Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington gingerly slipped his right arm into his shirt sleeve.

While he slowly dressed after Sunday's 23-13 loss to the Chargers, his mind raced with concerns about the state of his injured shoulder.

Pennington spent almost all of the second half on the bench Sunday, an ice pack on his throwing shoulder, as the Dolphins fell to 0-3. He had surgery on the shoulder twice in 2005, putting his career in doubt.

Sunday, he was sidelined on the first series of the second half when linebacker Kevin Burnett broke through the right side of the Dolphins' line and hit Pennington's arm on an incomplete pass.

"Right now I'm just in a little bit of a state of shock," he said. "Truly disappointed because I know what kind of work I've put in and what type of work our team has put in.

"For me not to be able to be out there and help us is tough for me to swallow."

Coach Tony Sparano had no comment on the severity of the injury.