Xavier McKinney had four fingers bandaged together Thursday as he sought the thumbs-up to play in the biggest game of the season. 

The Giants welcomed McKinney back to practice for the first time since he suffered a broken left hand in a Can-Am all-terrain vehicle accident while on a sightseeing tour in Mexico during the bye week in early November. The third-year safety wore a wrapped splint — not a club — as he caught high-speed passes off the Jugs machine and pushed around a tackling dummy before joining the scout-team defense. 

“I’m trying to get back out there, so I have to test it out,” McKinney said. “Anything that I can do to provide a little bit of contact against it, obviously I’m trying to do that to see how much I can take, what I need to do, what I don’t need to do. Everything felt fine when I did it.” 

McKinney is trying to talk his way into the lineup Sunday against the Colts for a win-and-in playoff scenario, though it seemed more like the Giants started him on a track to return next week against the Eagles. 

“Man, I want to get back big-time,” McKinney said. “The coaches know that, and the trainers know that. They know I’m kind of running out of patience here. I’ve missed a lot of weeks. This is what I love to do.” 

The Giants now have 20 days to activate McKinney off the Non-Football Injury list or shut him down for the season. There is little risk involved in starting his clock, because if the season still is alive in three weeks, then the Giants already will have clinched a playoff berth and upset their first-round opponent. 

Asked if McKinney could play after just two practices, head coach Brian Daboll offered an uninspiring “not sure.” Jason Pinnock’s solid play in McKinney’s absence somewhat lessened the urgency relative to the dire need for top cornerback Adoree’ Jackson to return from a knee injury. 

“The first thing is to let [McKinney] get out here and move around,” Daboll added. “He hasn’t played in a while. He has a contraption to protect his hand, so we figure get him started. He’s been moving around rehabbing. His lower body is obviously good, so we’ll let him practice and see where he’s at.” 

McKinney iced his surgically repaired hand after practice to manage any swelling in the scar tissue. He said his “bones are healed,” he has no further risk of re-injury than “any normal break” and the splint “will hold up good” during games. 

“It’s going to be different,” McKinney said, “but I consider myself an athlete — just like a lot of these guys in here — so we’re able to adjust. 

“It’s just that we’re trying to protect it right now because it’s coming back. I didn’t want everything to be restricted and they didn’t either because they still wanted me to be able to catch the ball, do stuff like that. If I would’ve had a full cast on, then I would’ve been super limited, but with this I can pretty much do everything. The only thing I can’t do is grab anybody. I can still hit and extend, all that. My wrist is free — everything’s pretty much free except for my four fingers.” 

The salary cap-strapped Giants paid McKinney his full salary during his absence, according to The Athletic, rather than trying to recoup some for a violation of his contract. 

“In my opinion, I’ve done a lot of things that they’ve asked in terms of doing my job as a great leader from top to bottom, so I wasn’t surprised about how they handled the situation,” McKinney said. “We were transparent with each other, and that’s always the biggest thing. It’s been great, the support they’ve shown me. I’ve told them that, because it didn’t have to go that way, so I truly am grateful for that.” 

The question now: Will the Giants trust that McKinney is telling the truth about his readiness? 

“I feel confident in it,” McKinney said. “I’m telling them I can play, but it’s up to the trainers, the docs. I know that they’re going to make the best decision, but I’m trying to get back out there.”