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New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley continues to recover from a torn ACL and injured meniscus, and by all accounts he remains on pace to return for the 2021 regular-season.
However, the Giants have not confirmed any sort of timetable themselves and head coach Joe Judge, in lockstep with his early stance on injuries, refuses to do so.
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“I’ll tell you what — I couldn’t be more pleased with how he works every day,” Judge said during an appearance on WFAN’s Carton & Roberts. “I’m not a doctor. I’ll trust our training staff and the medical professionals to tell us when he’s ready to go. I just know he comes to work and does everything he’s asked to do. He’s getting better day by day.
“Now, when they say he’s ready to go? That’s when we’ll put him on the field. But I want to make sure he’s ready to go, 100 percent, before we throw him out there.”
The Giants signed Devontae Booker as a potential insurance policy for Barkley, and later selected Gary Brightwell in the 2021 NFL draft. Still, they’d ideally like Barkley to return by Week 1 and assume the role that was specifically designed for him in Jason Garrett’s offense.
In the interim, the Giants will carefully monitor Barkley’s progress and then keep an added eye on him come training camp.
“I couldn’t tell you a timetable on that because we don’t really have a hard answer ourselves,” Judge said. “But I’d say that’s not out of the ordinary, for any player who’s coming off an injury at different levels of the rehab to have restrictions one way or another throughout training camp.
“So he won’t be the only one that we may or may not have to monitor throughout training camp. But look — he’s doing everything he can to get himself back as fast as possible.”
The 24-year-old Barkley has looked good in recovery, but ACL and meniscus injuries are tricky. If he rushes back too soon, he risks a potentially significant setback — something retired NFL running back Terrell Davis recently warned him about.
The good news? Barkley is an athletic freak of nature whose lower body is a strength. He’s also repeatedly referred to himself as a “fast healer,” but it’s entirely possible the Giants air on the side of caution and take it very slow with their superstar back.
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