Saquon Barkley will not be operated on for a sprained ankle

Saquon Barkley will avoid the knife, but his chronology for a return remains cloudy.

The verdict of the second opinion on the Giants' ankle sprain was that surgery would not be necessary. Coach Pat Shurmur also said that they were not currently considering putting Barkley on the injured list.

"We decided to rehabilitate him, prepare him to leave and see how that would unfold," Shurmur said Thursday. "As coaches, we obviously have a short time horizon. It will not be available this week. We will see just when it is. I do not want to specify how long it will take to come back. "

Barkley visited Dr. Robert Anderson, foot and ankle specialist, in Green Bay on Wednesday for a second opinion on the ankle he injured in Sunday's win against the Buccaneers. But he did not return with a firm deadline for his return, at least not a delay that Shurmur was willing to offer publicly.

Paul Schwartz, of the post, announced that Barkley should spend six to eight weeks.

"You never know how long it takes," says Shurmur.

The Giants will have to be careful, however, that Barkley tries to come back too early.

"That's part of Saquon's charm, it's competitive," Shurmur said. "He will try to do everything in his power to return quickly. As every time a player is injured, he must follow a process and we will monitor him. "

In the meantime, Wayne Gallman will start Sunday against the Redskins, while Jon Hilliman seems to be the replacement that should return to the training team.