ALARMING SIGHT: Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, appearing on crutches and a walking boot yesterday (above), is confident he will play Week 1 despite injuring his left foot against the Colts on Sunday. (Joseph E. Amaturo; NFL.com)
ALARMING SIGHT: Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, appearing on crutches and a walking boot yesterday (inset), is confident he will play Week 1 despite injuring his left foot against the Colts on Sunday. (Joseph E. Amaturo; NFL.com)
Victor Cruz hobbled to meet the media on crutches yesterday, his bruised left heel in a walking boot and his status for the season opener in question. The Giants wideout was upbeat and confident he will be ready for Week 1 in Dallas, but coach Tom Coughlin refused to say the injury would be a short-term one.
“Why does everybody look so sad?” Cruz asked as he limped up to the podium before yesterday’s practice.
Though it seems likely Cruz will miss the rest of the preseason, he professed no worries he will be ready to practice the week leading up to the Sept. 8 opener against the Cowboys.
“Hopefully, I can be back before then,” he said. “But I do see myself, envision myself out here on the practice field, getting ready for that Cowboys game, getting ready to go down to Texas to play those guys. That’s what I do envision.’’
Coughlin would not profess the same confidence.
“Hopefully it’s not going to be a long time. Who knows? I don’t know that,’’ said Coughlin. “He feels better from one day to the next, which is a good thing. Now if you look at him you say, ‘Oh, my God, he’s on crutches and a boot.’ So they’re doing all kinds of stuff to make sure that he doesn’t put any pressure on it. But he did feel better.’’
After inking a six-year, $45.9 million deal before training camp, Cruz got hurt three plays into Sunday’s 20-12 preseason loss to the Colts when he went for a deep ball from Eli Manning and cornerback Greg Toler committed interference and then landed on top of Cruz.
“On the way down, the defender’s weight landed on top of mine on one single foot. I felt it go numb and knew something was wrong immediately,’’ Cruz said. “The MRI just showed some blood in there in the area where the swelling is, and that was about it. No tear, nothing wrong with the bone. Everything’s fine, which is a good sign, which is what I was worried about.’’
The Giants sent those MRI exam results to a specialist to confirm the initial diagnosis of a bruised heel, according to ESPN. After seeing Cruz’s fellow starting wideout Hakeem Nicks hobbled for much of last year, caution was understandable.
“I think it’s an injury where it’s predominantly the swelling that’s the issue, and once the swelling goes down, I think I’ll be OK,” Cruz said. “I just want to be smart and want to make sure I’m 100 percent when I’m out there, and make sure that all the swelling is gone and … attack it early. I don’t see it lingering or anything long-term with it. I feel good. I feel better than yesterday, which is a good sign.’’
Still, Cruz is apt to miss the final two preseason games and considerable practice time. Rueben Randle is most likely to step into his role as a starter. Playing on the outside yesterday at practice, Randle caught a pair of long touchdowns in 11-on-11s, first beating corner Frederick Terrence and then Charles James.
Louis Murphy is the nominal No. 4 wideout, but he doesn’t play in the slot and was hobbled with a sore leg. Jerrel Jernigan dropped a wide open ball. Ramses Barden was riding the stationary bike with a sore knee. Kevin Hardy also is in the mix.
“That’s what preseason is all about: opportunity. And opportunity is there,’’ Coughlin said. “Also hopefully we get to the game with Jernigan, [Brandon] Collins, those kind of people ready to contribute also. So it’ll be a great chance for them also.’’