EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants don't know when star wide receiver Malik Nabers will be back from what coach John Harbaugh said Thursday was "not a simple knee" injury.
Nabers tore the ACL in his right knee in September. He underwent the original surgery, which included a full meniscus repair, several weeks later. A second surgery was required recently to remove scar tissue that was causing stiffness.
It has the Giants hopeful but uncertain if he will return for Week 1. They open their season in a "Sunday Night Football" game Sept. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium.
"He's in the middle of it. It's such a hard thing. It's an ACL, and whatever else he had in that knee," coach John Harbaugh said after his team's third organized team activity practice. "Not a simple knee [injury], you know? So, um, he's in the slog of it, the grind of it, I would say. So, he's fighting through it, and he's here every day working hard at it.
"Just impossible to predict. I mean, the goal is to start the season and get out there sometime in training camp. That'd be the goal, and we'll see what happens."
The Giants' John Harbaugh said it is "impossible to predict" when Malik Nabers will be ready to return from his knee injury, which the coach said was "not a simple" one. AP Photo/Seth Wenig Much like most of the Giants' injured players, Nabers wasn't out at Thursday's practice. He has, however, been in the building rehabbing the knee this week.
Harbaugh and the Giants have been less optimistic about Nabers' return in recent months. Originally, they thought he might be ready for the start of training camp. Now, that ship seems to have sailed. They seem to have their fingers crossed about Week 1.
"If he's out there, great. [If] he's not out there, great. You know, we'll be ready to go either way," Harbaugh said. "But I know he's fighting like crazy to do his best to be out there, and he's with the guys every day."