New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who has dealt with a multitude of serious injuries in recent years, appears to have avoided the worst-case scenario.
The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year was forced to leave Sunday’s miracle win over the Arizona Cardinals with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after he injured his ankle while being piled up on and bent over backward.
Buy Giants TicketsBarkley was in clear pain instantly and had to be helped to the sideline by trainers where he proceeded to slam his helmet down in frustration.
Following the victory, Barkley was carted to the X-ray room where scans came back negative.
“(It) could have been much worse,” a team source told NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Barkley will undergo an MRI on Monday in Arizona to determine the extent of his sprain, but a team source tells ESPN’s Jordan Raanan that it’s not a high-ankle sprain.
Giants’ RB Saquon Barkley is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his ankle Monday in Arizona to determine the severity of his injury and how much time he could miss, sources tell @AdamSchefter and me. Barkley’s ankle was swollen after the game but the inital thinking, in the words of…
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) September 18, 2023
Mild, low-grade ankle sprains do not require any surgical intervention and often heal within one to three weeks. That means Barkley will almost certainly miss Thursday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers but could be back in time to face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4 (October 2).
Any injury to Barkley is not ideal for the player or the team but this seems like a best-case scenario.
Assuming Barkley does miss time, Matt Breida, Gary Brightwell, and rookie Eric Gray will see increased playing time.
