Let the countdown begin, as the Giants and Jon Beason start the clock on a physical rehabilitation that likely will result in him missing the Sept. 8 season opener in Detroit after an injury prognosis that could have been better and certainly could have been worse.
Beason, the invaluable middle linebacker, will be out 12 weeks after he suffered a ligament tear and a small fracture in his right foot during Thursday’s organized team activity practice.
Beason will go for further tests Monday in Charlotte, N.C., with foot and ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson before a determination will be made regarding the next step in dealing with the injury — though sources said surgery is the inevitable next move.
Anderson is the Panthers’ team orthopedist and operated on Beason’s torn Achilles tendon in 2011.
“The prognosis is ‘X’ amount of time and it [the season opener] is within that time frame,” Beason said Friday. “I expect to be back. If not, I’ll be back as soon as I can. That’s really how you have to look at it. If it’s not 16 [games played], maybe it’s 15 or 14. Whatever it is, you want it to be that number as opposed to one.’’
Beason, 29, was hurt while defending a pass play during practice inside the team’s field house. In addition to the torn ligament in his right foot, he also has a small fracture to the sesamoid bone.
The Giants likely cannot function at a high level on defense without Beason for any extended length of time, because there’s no proven replacement at middle linebacker. Rookie fifth-round pick Devon Kennard moved in for Beason with the starters on Thursday. Veteran free agent addition Jameel McClain has some experience in the middle and Mark Herzlich, entering his fourth year with the Giants, remains on the roster.
“I’m just hoping [Beason] can have a speedy recovery and he’s back with us,’’ safety Antrel Rolle told The Post. “I know it’s a very hard pill for him to swallow being as competitive as he is. He’s the key to making this defense work. He’s something we’ve been missing for a while and now we finally got it and for it to be like this for approximately 12 weeks, that’s definitely a hard pill to swallow.
“But we’re going to make it work, we’re going to find a way, other guys are going to have to step up and fill in. Myself, I’m taking a huge responsibility on my shoulders to make sure that gets taken care of and we’re gonna go out there and still be dominant and do what we set out to do.’’
Beason made an immediate impact last season after arriving in a trade with the Panthers (for a seventh-round draft pick), and the three-time Pro Bowler became an important player and team leader. In just 11 games on defense, Beason finished second on the Giants with 98 tackles and is likely to replace Justin Tuck as one of the defensive team captains alongside Rolle. In free agency, the Giants re-signed Beason (three years, $16.8 million) and the only caveat was his injury history, as he has had three major surgeries (Achilles, shoulder, knee) in the past 17 months.
At first, Beason feared he had suffered a season-ending toe injury. He said he pivoted on his right foot and “literally felt like I stepped in like a sprinkler-head hole.’’
He will miss next week’s mini-camp and all of training camp.
“To have this setback kind of gets you back down to ground zero and then you have to work yourself back into football shape again,’’ Beason said. “That’s disheartening, but it’s something that I think I can accomplish, even under bad circumstances.”