The saga of
Victor Cruz’s calf injury will continue.
There was a hopeful report earlier this week that had the Giants feeling “
guarded optimism” about getting the wide receiver back on the field because he was feeling no pain in the calf that has sidelined him since early in training camp, but a Wednesday MRI didn’t bring the news they were hoping to hear.
Coach Tom Coughlin said Thursday, via Ralph Vacchiano of the
New York Daily News, that the MRI showed that Cruz’s calf still
has not healed. As a result, Cruz has not been cleared to return to practice and he will continue to work on the side with medical trainers until it’s deemed time for another examination.
That means Cruz will miss his seventh game of the year against the Cowboys this Sunday and, given the setback that happened when he tried to ramp up for a practice a few weeks ago, it seems unlikely that he’d be back for the Week Eight game against the Saints either. The Giants then face the Buccaneers and Patriots before a Week 11 bye.
While the Giants obviously would have been better off placing Cruz on injured reserve with the designation to return at the start of the season, they didn’t know how things were going to play out when they opted not to in early September. They probably should have given it greater consideration when Cruz had his setback, however, because they could use an active player on the 53-man roster while Cruz concentrates on healing from an injury that’s threatening to make this a second straight lost season.