When Will Victor Cruz Return for the Giants?

Victory Cruz, Victor Cruz injury update, Victory Cruz injury, Victor Cruz return

New York Giants WR Victor Cruz played in just five games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury. (Getty)

The New York Giants will play in their home opener on Sunday, September 20, looking to brush away the bad memories of week one with their first victory of the season.

But, for the second straight game, Big Blue will be without one of its biggest playmakers as wide receiver Victor Cruz remains sidelined after the team officially declared him out against the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week.

Cruz missed the Giants season opener in Dallas due to lingering problems with his calf, surprisingly, not because of his surgically repaired knee. The wideout tore his patellar tendon last October in Philadelphia and had been working throughout the offseason to get back on the field. That work hit a bigger-than-reported snag just weeks before the opener, though, when Cruz tweaked his calf during a workout.

At first, the thought was, still, that Cruz would be able to play in Dallas but as he continued to stand on the sidelines during practice, the New Jersey native knew something was very wrong. He told The New York Post:

It was just a little bit more than I expected. They saw a little bit of blood in there and wanted to get it out, and that set me back a little bit. So it’s just a matter of continuing the rehab, continuing to build the muscle back, and continuing to build the strength back and we’ll be good to go.

New York has a short week between Sunday’s early matchup against the Falcons and a week three tilt against NFC East rival Washington on Thursday, Stepmber 24. In other words, don’t expect to see Cruz out on the field until, at least, week four.

At least that was Cruz’ optimistic prediction:

If it were up to me, I would love to be back at some point within the next two weeks, whether it be [next] Thursday [against the Redskins] or the following game. But we’ll see, that’s just me speaking. That’s not the training staff or the doctors [saying] things like that, so we’ll see.

The Giants, of course, want to see Cruz back on the field – and in the slot – as soon as possible, but the team won’t rush him back before he’s ready. Prior to his injury last season, in five games played, Cruz hauled in 23 receptions for 337 yards and one touchdown. He boasts 3,963 career receiving yards and 24 career touchdowns.

Cruz signed a five-year, $43 million contract extension in 2013, a year after helping lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory.