New York Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his right foot to repair a Lisfranc injury, coach Brian Daboll confirmed Wednesday.
Thomas, who signed a five-year, $117.5 million contract in 2023, was hurt late in a 17-7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend. A Lisfranc injury occurs in the middle of the foot when at least one of the small bones is broken or sprained or the ligaments that support the foot in that area is torn.
“You can’t replace an Andrew Thomas,” Daboll said. “I feel terrible for him. I was able to text with him today. He had his surgery this morning, everything was successful. He’s a leader, he’s a captain, he’s great in the locker room, he’s a very good football player.”
The Giants (2-4) began practicing on Wednesday for their home game against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) with Jermaine Eluemunor staying at right tackle and Joshua Ezeudu on the left side for Thomas.
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Daboll said Evan Neal, who had been the starting right tackle since being drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2022, is still in the picture if the Giants decide to flip Eluemunor to the left side. If that were the case, Neal or Ezeudu would start on the right side.
Neal has struggled on the field in his career and missed the later part of last season and the start of training camp because of ankle surgery.
Daboll said he will decide Friday the configuration of his line for Sunday’s game.
Explosive rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers was back at practice, wearing a noncontact red jersey. He has missed the last two games because of a concussion.
Returning to practice in the jersey moves Nabers closer to getting out of the concussion protocol; the last step is being cleared by an independent neurologist.
“Malik has made progress,” Daboll said. “Good progress where he’s able to come out here today and practice. He’ll have a red jersey on, but he passed some of the steps that he needed to do. He’s better, which is a good thing. So, we’ll see. We’ll go through today. I’m optimistic, but I’m not going to push anything.”
Nabers led the league with 35 catches after four weeks before being hurt in a game against Dallas on Sept. 26.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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