New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers has yet to undergo surgery almost a month after suffering a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee, head coach Brian Daboll told reporters Thursday (h/t ESPN’s Jordan Raanan).
Raanan reported that Nabers is set to undergo a procedure “soon,” and that it’s “not that unusual” for there to be a delay between injury and surgery.
“Usually it’s to allow swelling to decrease and to build up strength around the knee,” Raanan wrote.
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan wrote also wrote that doctors are “waiting for swelling to go down,” and that Nabers is expected to undergo surgery “within the next week or so.”
Nabers suffered the injury on Sept. 28 while attempting a catch in a Week 4 win over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
The 22-year-old underwent an MRI that revealed the extent of the injury the following day.
This isn’t the first time a franchise star has seen a significant wait between ACL injury and surgery. Former Giants running back Saquon Barkley waited five weeks to undergo surgery after tearing the ACL in his right knee in September 2020.
It has been a difficult few months in terms of injuries for Nabers, who had already dealt with back and shoulder injuries that limited him throughout the offseason.
He briefly left the Giants’ Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with an apparent injury, although he later returned. He ultimately recorded 271 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in four games prior to his injury.
Nabers was hoping to build on a stellar 2024 campaign during which he set a franchise rookie record with 109 catches while racking up 1,204 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns.
Unfortunately for the Giants, the team got to see him play with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart for just 25 snaps before the Nabers’ season was cut short by his ACL injury.
Making sure Nabers is able to make a full recovery from his knee injury will be key to the Giants’ hopes of developing him into a long-term WR1 for Dart.