New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley told reporters Wednesday that patience has been a key to his rehab from a torn ACL in his right knee.
And Giants fans might require some patience to hold on until Barkley can return to the field at 100 percent.
The 24-year-old Barkley wouldn’t describe exactly where he’s at in his rehab process, nor put a timetable on when he expects to return to game action, noting that “nothing (is) going to be forced for me to come back” and nobody around him is rushing him.
“It’s going to be whenever my body tells me I’m ready and it will show when I’m ready to go, that’s when I’ll be able to go out there and be hopefully as good as I was before or even better,” he said.
Barkley, who injured the knee in September, acknowledged that remaining patient was tough as his Giants teammates get back to the practice field during organized team activities.
“When you have a sport that you love that’s taken away from you, you want to get back there as fast as you can obviously, but you have to be smart,” he said. “At the end of the day I want to do the best for my team, not just for a short span but for a long time.”
One day earlier, Giants coach Joe Judge also declined to reveal a timetable for Barkley’s return, but said that the back has been “tremendously positive” during the process.
“He comes in every day, he attacks every day from a rehab standpoint,” Judge said.
Barkley’s third NFL season ended prematurely when he tore the ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has gained 2,344 yards on 4.7 yards per carry with 17 rushing touchdowns and six receiving scores in 31 career games for New York.
