Giants' Saquon Barkley Says Ankle Injury Diagnosed as High Sprain

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley confirmed he suffered a high ankle sprain Sunday.

Barkley clarified his injury to Amazon prior to the Giants' Thursday Night Football contest, per ESPN's Jordan Raanan. The Giants offense struggled without Barkley in a 30-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Barkley suffered the injury during the Giants' Week 2 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. He had to be helped off the field in the fourth quarter.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that Barkley's injury is expected to sideline him for three weeks. Barkley also missed three games after suffering a high ankle sprain in 2019.

After Shefter's Monday report, which classified the injury as a "normal" sprain and not a high-ankle injury, head coach Brian Daboll originally declined to count Barkley out for the Giants' Thursday night contest.

"I'm not saying that he's out yet," Daboll said about Barkley Tuesday. "He's a quick healer. I'm not saying he's in, he's out. We're going to take it all the way up with him to Thursday. But he feels a lot better."

The Giants have 11 days before their next game, potentially giving Barkley extra time to heal.

That will be important for the Giants, who saw Barkley's game decline during a 2021 season marred by his recovery from a torn ACL and an ankle injury.

The team has now seen the difference between Barkley playing through injury and a fully healthy Barkley, who returned to Pro Bowl form in 2022 with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards.

Barkley had collected 114 yards on 29 carries through two contests before suffering his injury.

The high sprain comes at a difficult time for both the Giants, whose offensive line buckled against the 49ers Thursday, and Barkley, who is on a one-year contract and will need to either work out a new deal with the Giants, accept a franchise tag or hit free agency next offseason. Both sides will be hoping for the star running back's speedy return.