Injury news

Some pieces of good news, or let's say.... mildly encouraging news... on the injury front:

Beatty returned to practice after 4 or 5 days of good conditioning and workouts where he showed his strength and dexterity had returned. He took snaps with the starters, though he was limited and did not take all the snaps. Still - a good sign. Nevertheless, I think they will hold him out of the 4th preseason game tomorrow night. Probably more to be gained from him getting rest and rehab and avoiding reinjury than from the marginal gain of game experience for the 10 or 12 snaps he would take.

Amukamara appeared at practice without his walking boot (did not practice, of course, but was out of his boot). I don't know if he's a fast healer, but the fact that the boot is off probably means that the pain and swelling has subsided somewhat. The purpose of the boot is to immobilize the foot and protect it so blood flow to the area decreases and the swelling goes down. It is also intended to stabilize the foot if it has become unstable, i.e. if it will not support him because of tears of the ligaments between the ankle and the leg bones (tibia and fibula). The fact that he has taken it off already is a good sign; it probably indicates that those ligaments were not completely torn and were only stretched somewhat. He wants to be ready for the opener which is unlikely, but perhaps it means he will be back on the shorter end of the 3-6 week window it takes to recover from the high ankle sprain. The rehabilitation consists of strengthening the muscles around the ankle so it can compensate for any weakness introduced by the weakened ligaments.

Nicks seems 100% and might even take some snaps in the game against the Patriots Wednesday night to feel the game speed and hitting. He looked back to form in practice, both in straight line speed as well as with his cutting and changing direction. His recovery time was almost exactly what Giants doctors forecast that it would be.