When Giants cornerback Terrell Thomas first injured his right knee, he thought that it “felt a little bit weird.”
That feeling, plus swelling immediately after the injury, got everyone around the Giants scared that Thomas had torn the ACL in his knee for the third time. Fear gave way to relief after doctors told Thomas that there was no need for even exploratory surgery and that he could return to the team for rehab in hopes of a quick return to the team.
Thomas met with reporters Wednesday for the first time since everything went down in what he called “a long week” and said he thought a lower back injury earlier in camp led to his knee injury, which he described as a stretched or aggravated ACL. Thomas said that he would be able to return to practice in the next 3-8 weeks, which is a bit longer than some other reports on the back end but still much better than last year’s exile on injured reserve. In the meantime he’ll be doing lighter work and other preparation for the season.
“I don’t plan on having any more setbacks. I think this is just a minor scare more than anything,” Thomas said, via Mike Garofolo of the Newark Star-Ledger. “You just got to give it time, let it heal, just use my time to place my focus in other aspects, you know, start preparing for my other opponents, start game planning against the NFC East. You know, little stuff like that.”
Thomas also admitted that part of his rehab will be regaining trust in his knee, which is more than understandable given his recent history. The Giants have last year’s first rounder Prince Amukamara to plug in at corner in the short term, so you’d expect Thomas’ rehab to proceed as cautiously as possible to ensure the Giants have him on the field for as much of the season as possible.