New York Giants rookie tight end Daniel Bellinger is hopeful that he can return this season as he recovers from surgery to repair the fractured eye socket and septum, which he suffered in the team’s Week 7 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Bellinger was injured on a freak play where Jaguars rookie linebacker Devin Lloyd’s hand slipped through his face mask, jamming New York’s tight end in the left eye. He was carted from the field and taken to a local hospital.
The surgery revealed no damage to the eye but Bellinger needed to have a metal plate inserted in his face to support the healing process.
On Wednesday, Bellinger told reporters that he is still experiencing some double vision and will wear a visor when he returns to action, whenever that may be.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Bellinger. “It’s a one-in-a-million injury, that’s how I see it. Just got to come back and be stronger because of it.”
Bellinger said there wasn’t much different he could have done to prevent the injury.
“I don’t think so. I just think that wearing a visor will help. He was going for the ball and I had the ball close to my facemask and he got in there. Just a freak accident,” he said. “I think just wearing a visor will protect that in the future.”
Bellinger also said that Lloyd had reached out to him to check on his condition.
“He messaged me on Instagram,” said Bellinger. “Sent a nice message apologizing. He didn’t mean anything by it. I played him in college, too, and I never saw him as a dirty player. I think he’s a good player and he apologized for it so it’s cool.”
Bellinger played his college ball at San Diego State and faced Lloyd, who played at Utah, last season.
Follow the Giants Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Google Podcasts
