“Why does everybody look so sad?” New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz asked media representatives as he wobbled to the podium on crutches and a walking boot.
This past Sunday night, Cruz suffered a bruised heel injury in the team’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. But the star player is in good spirits and insists that he will play in the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8.
“Hopefully I can be back before then,” said Cruz. “But I do envision myself being on the practice field getting ready for that Cowboys game and getting ready to go down to Texas to play those guys.”
Cruz boot and crutches are for precautionary measures, he escaped with no serious issues.
“The MRI just showed some blood in there, in the area where the swelling is, and that was about it. No tear — nothing wrong with the bone — everything’s fine, which is a good sign, which is what I was worried about,” he said.
The Giants still want to be a 100 percent sure about the receiver’s health. The organization has reportedly sent the results of Cruz’s MRI to a specialist for a second opinion, to confirm the team’s preliminary diagnosis of a bruised heel.
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the injury might look worse than it really is, but it was a bit worrisome to see Cruz in a walking boot and on crutches.
“Hopefully it is not going to be a long time,” Coughlin said after practice Tuesday. “Who knows? He feels better from one day to the next. Now if you look at him, you say, ‘Oh my God, he’s got crutches and boot.’ So they are doing all kinds of stuff to make sure he doesn’t put any pressure on it. But he did a feel a little bit better today.”
