Report: Saquon Barkley has a high ankle sprain

The Giants star running back is potentially looking at missing weeks with the first significant injury of his NFL career.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Giants running back Saquon Barkley is expected to miss several weeks after being diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, according to NFL insiders  Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The #Giants are expecting to be without star RB Saquon Barkley for the next several weeks because of his high-ankle sprain, source said. Not surprising given the nature of the injury and his presence with a walking boot and crutches on the sideline.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 23, 2019

Barkley was injured in the second quarter of the Giants 32-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

MRI revealed Giants’ RB Saquon Barkley suffered a high ankle sprain that could sideline him anywhere from 4-8 weeks, per source. Longer timeline is considered more likely; the Giants have a bye in week 11, which could give him eight weeks to recover and return for last six games.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 23, 2019

Barkley said it was difficult for him to watch the entire second half from the sideline, where he was spotted with his foot in a  walking boot and on crutches. 

“As a competitor, I just wanna be out there. That was the biggest reason why I was upset with the injury," he said. 

"I hate watching my teammates play without me… But just seeing all those guys go out there and just play at a high level and just fight – it was 28-10 at one point. ... I’m just really happy for Daniel to get his first win and for the team to get the first win.”

Head coach Pat Shurmur and his staff will obviously get into more details when they begin game-planning Tuesday for their next game, a home contest against Washington on Sunday, regarding how they plan to carry on without their star running back, but he did try to address that question in his postgame presser.  

“We were in a situation without Saquon where we were behind, so then you’re chucking it a little more than maybe you would like," Shurmur said. 

"We were still trying to mix in the run, but they were rushing five most of the time. They did a pretty good job against the runner so we had to throw.”