New York Giants Justifiably Optimistic Of Victor Cruz’s Return

By Nafisa H | Mar 27, 2015

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is optimistic of Victor Cruz’s return from a torn patellar tendon. Although hesitant to comment on an exact timeline, Coughlin is hoping to have Cruz back in the starting lineup for Week 1.

“I think he’ll be the player that he was, and hopefully better,” Coughlin said of Cruz, via ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “But as far as when, I would be careful of what I would say there. Hopefully it’s the first game. But if it isn’t, you know we’ve done that one before. We just went through it. But I’m hoping it would be.”

Cruz tore his patellar tendon in Week 6’s game against division rivals Philadelphia Eagles. The injury is rare and usually occurs when the leg is extended and can result from high-force incidents common in football. Typically, after surgery, the injury takes a minimum 6 to 12 months to recover. The initial timeline given to Cruz was roughly 9 months, which would be around the start of training camp.

While the road to his return is long and clouded with uncertainty, there are a few rays of light.

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For one, it’s been five months since his injury and thankfully, Victor’s recovery is going smoothly. One promising sign is that he’s already running and working out with the team’s trainers. Cruz “looks really good and light,” Coughlin said, via NY Post’s Bart Hubbuch.

Secondly, a study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that acute surgical repair generally produces good functional results. The study reviewed 24 patellar tendon ruptures in 22 NFL players. Out of the 24 patellar tendon ruptures, 19 players returned to play at least one NFL game. The average number of games played was 45.4, with a range of 1 to 142 games.

Perhaps the brightest reason for optimism for Cruz is former New York Jets safety Jim Leonhard’s story. Leonhard tore his patellar tendon in 2011 and underwent surgery shortly afterwards. After lengthy rehabilitation to regain muscle strength, coordination and agility, he returned and played 37 consecutive NFL games.

While it is too early to establish a clear timeline for Victor Cruz’s return, the outlook on his recovery and anticipated level of play once he does return is hopeful. Coach Coughlin justifiably believes that Cruz will be able to play at the elite level that he did pre-injury. It may take him a while to re-claim his physical explosiveness but Cruz seems to have overcome the toughest part:mental hurdle.

For athletes recovering from injury, it’s mind over matter. Jim Leonhard knows how difficult it can be for an athlete to clear the mental hurdle of trusting your body again.

“Some people . . . if they don’t feel right, they don’t have the confidence to go out there and perform,” Leonhard said via the New York Daily News’s Ebenezer Samuel. “In a lot of ways, that’s what gets them. They don’t feel 100%. For me, I knew I was a good athlete, but I never felt like my athletic ability alone was what got me here or what was going to keep me in the league.”

Victor Cruz is determined to come back from a torn patellar tendon and return to his elite form. Regardless of how long his recovery may be, he will return to the New York Giants in 2015 because of his positive attitude and winning mentality.

Cruz has overcome the hardest part of his recovery: the psychological doubts. That is reason enough for Giants fans to be optimistic.

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