SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The plot thickens a bit with Saquon Barkley.
The Giants’ star running back is dealing with a mild high right ankle sprain, a source confirmed, which is not the same as the low or “ordinary’’ ankle sprain ESPN previously reported after Barkley was injured late in the 31-28 comeback victory over the Cardinals last Sunday.
A high ankle sprain is usually far more serious than a low ankle sprain, but this particular issue for Barkley is not as bad as it could have been, a source said. Barkley revealed the high ankle sprain diagnosis in an interview on “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime Video.
Injured Giants running back Saquon Barkley (right) on the field during pre-game warmups. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostBarkley was not active for the Giant’s 30-12 loss to the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. Head coach Brian Daboll, on Tuesday, said Barkley was feeling much better and that he is a “fast healer.’’
The Giants will not play again until Oct. 2 and the belief is Barkley has a chance to return for that “Monday Night Football’’ game against the Seahawks.
Ordinarily, a high ankle sprain can take a month or more to heal, but Barkley’s sprain is less severe.
Saquon Barkley (right) works with Matt Breida during pregame warmups. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostBarkley was injured with 1:12 remaining on his final rushing attempt, on which he gained two additional yards and helped to set up Graham Gano’s game-winning 34-yard field goal.
Dealing with this particular injury is nothing new for Barkley. He missed three games in 2019 dealing with a right ankle sprain. In 2020, he missed 14 games after tearing his right ACL. In 2021, he missed four games with a high left ankle sprain.
