Getty Giants RB Saquon Barkley carries a Dallas defender.
Saquon Barkley’s injury will once again sideline the running back for the Giants’ Week 6 matchup versus the Patriots. The Giants initially said Barkley had a chance to play on Thursday night, but the team announced on the eve of the game that the star back would be out against the Patriots. Barkley sustained a high-ankle sprain against the Bucs in Week 3.
The injury bug has been particularly harsh on the Giants who are also without Wayne Gallman, Evan Engram and Sterling Shepard. The Giants take on the Cardinals in Week 7, and Barkley’s return appears to be in reach for the upcoming game. Barkley praised Eli Penny who could see a lot of work against the Patriots with the Giants’ top two running backs sidelined.
“EP … he was going,” Barkley told SNY TV. “He was doing really well. He was doing his thing. I’m excited to see him. That’s the stuff that you love that goes unnoticed. They may not get all of the love and the shine or all of the credit, but for him to go in there and get back to his running back days … I think he did a really good job not just only in running back, as fullback. The last few years, he’s been definitely beneficial to me and has helped me out a lot to grow — not only into the person, but into the player I am.”
Prior to the Giants officially ruling Barkley out, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported that Week 6 was “too early” for Barkley to be cleared given the running back sustained the injury a little more than two weeks ago.
“Saquon Barkley unlikely to play Thursday night against the Patriots, per sources. Still expected to be too early for medical clearance despite returning to practice last week. It has been 16 days since he suffered a high ankle sprain,” Raanan tweeted.
Barkley Admitted to Being Frustrated by the Reported Timeline
Barkley admitted to NFL.com that he has been frustrated by the reported timeline on his return. The widely reported range for Barkley to once again be in the lineup has been six to eight weeks, but the running back believes these reports are not based on direct knowledge of his ankle.
“How can anyone tell me how long I’m supposed to be out,” Barkley told NFL.com. “Maybe because of my competitive nature. How are you going to tell me (that)? No one was in the doctor’s office (with me), no one has seen my ankle, everyone’s different. I think an important thing that Dr. Anderson and Dr. O’Malley said was, ‘You treat the patient, not the injury.’ When I heard that, I just took it to heart. … Everyone’s putting these messages out there and no one heard from my mouth that I’m out six-to-eight weeks. That made no sense at all.”
Barkley stopped short of giving an exact timeline for his return, but the Giants running back clearly believes he can beat the projected six to eight week timeline.
While at Penn State, Barkley Returned From an Ankle Injury Much Quicker Than Expected
If Barkley is able to beat the projections, it would not be the first time the running back has returned sooner than expected from an ankle injury. While at Penn State, it took Barkley two weeks to come back from an ankle injury, but his current situation is likely a bit more severe. Regardless of when Barkley returns, the running back promised to be in better form than he was prior to the injury.
“I promise you I’m coming back 10 times better and I’m going to try to return as quickly as possible, whenever it is to heal, so I can get back to help my team compete,” Barkley explained to NorthJersey.com. “That’s what I’m going to try to do.”