Why Victor Cruz Injury Is No Giant Concern To Big Blue

NBC’s Pro Football Talk is reporting that wide receiver

Victor Cruz left New York Giants’ practice early on Tuesday with what he called “a little tightness” in his groin

in a post dated Aug. 9, 2016. Cruz is in the midst of a comeback after missing most of the past two seasons with injuries.

The Giants’ all-time single season receiving leader (you read that correctly), Cruz tore the patella tendon in his right knee on Sunday Night Football against the Eagles on Oct. 12, 2014. He was placed on injured reserve and would miss the final 10 games of that season.

It has been an agonizingly long road back for Cruz, and Giants’ fans. Last year, in his first comeback attempt, Cruz was in and out of training camp with what the Giants called a strained left calf. Of course, it was actually a torn fascia and, after teasing a return for weeks, the star receiver was shut down for the season in November.

There are few injuries more debilitating to a professional athlete than the torn patella Cruz suffered. According to Dr. David Chao in an article on NFPost.com on Nov. 30, 2015, Cruz’s injury is not seen as frequently as an anterior cruciate ligament injury, yet a torn patella tendon is worse than a torn ACL in the opinion of many surgeons. The rehab time is roughly 6-9 months, on average, and chances for regaining the explosion needed for an athlete to make sharp cuts isn’t encouraging.

To his credit, the feisty Cruz fought back from that injury, but the strain he put on his left leg to overcompensate for the weakness in his right knee is what led to his torn calf.

There are two trains of thought here for Giants fans. One, any news concerning Cruz coming out of camp is bad news. Ideally, he would continue to work, get reps, pace himself, and quietly ascend back to familiar levels.

Though the first perspective is hard to argue with, especially after last season, there is a silver lining in all of this. Cruz told the media he pulled himself from practice as a precaution.

"I didn’t want to push it and potentially make it worse so I just told the training staff and they shut me down.” – Victor Cruz on leaving practice early (8/9) after experiencing groin tightness"

No injury news is good news, but soft muscle injuries such as a groin pull aren’t uncommon during training camp. Players are working harder than they’ve worked in months and conditioning their bodies to playing football. As often stated, and always accurate, no weight room or training activity can simulate playing football quite like…well, playing football. Being in good physical shape and being in good football-ready shape are two entirely different matters.

Cruz and the Giants are right to err on the side of caution. His status for Friday’s preseason opener against the Dolphins looks bleak, and that’s fine. Cruz has worked long and hard to return, there’s no reason to take a chance by suiting him up for a meaningless exhibition game. The correct thing to do is to shut him down for a few days and allow his body a break from the rigors of camp.

More from GMEN HQ

While some feel keeping Cruz on football’s version of a pitch count in practice is worrisome, it will prevent him from putting too much stress on his body. He hasn’t played a game in nearly two seasons and he isn’t going to work his body back to peak condition in one training camp, that won’t happen until possibly mid-season, provided he steers clear of any significant injuries. Conversely, pushing himself too hard in such a short period of time can prove more than his body is ready to handle and re-aggravate old injuries, or lead to new ones.

Patience is a virtue. Cruz has missed the Giant’ past 26 games, a few more days won’t hurt.

Home/NY Giants News