Dr. Jung says Giant’s Offensive Tackle should have little concern upon return to play after injury.
Article: Here’s good news for Giants’ Andrew Thomas after season-ending foot surgery – nj.com
The Giants got devastating injury news this week, when their elite left tackle, Andrew Thomas, underwent season-ending foot surgery.
But there is good news for Thomas: His injury should not impact the quality of his play when he returns. Nor is he at elevated risk for re-injuring his foot.
Those were the big takeaways from NJ Advance Media’s interview this week with Dr. Kenneth Jung, an orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles who also is the Rams’ foot and ankle injury consultant.
“The risk [for re-injury] comes from occupational hazard [of playing football] rather than the injury [itself],” Jung said. “If it heals stable, which I assume it will, there is no elevated risk [for re-injury].”
After a rough rookie season in 2020, Thomas spent the next two years becoming an elite left tackle. But injuries (first a hamstring last season, now a foot) have wrecked his past two seasons. By the time next season begins, he will have played in just 16 games (including six this year) and missed 18 from 2023-24.
When 2025 opens, Thomas will have two seasons left on what is essentially a four-year, $69 million contract. He will need to show he can be healthy and productive, in order to justify that deal.
But even though Thomas is a 6-foot-5, 315-pound man playing on a surgically repaired foot, his Lisfranc (mid-foot) injury should not impact his durability or performance, said Jung.
“It should not be a career-threatening injury, if everything heals properly,” Jung said.
Thomas’ recovery window probably will be four to six months, said Jung. At that point, Thomas should be fully back. That would be mid-April. Which means Thomas could participate, to some degree, in spring practices — and should be completely back by training camp.
Post-injury arthritis is the main thing that would impact Thomas’ ability to move around during football games. But that is not an immediate concern, even though it could be something he will have to deal with when he retires.
With Lisfranc injuries, players are “going to have a higher chance of developing post-traumatic arthritis,” Jung said. “A heavier individual is going to have a higher chance of that. [But] it’s not going to happen in the next two or three years unless it’s catastrophic. We tell these players, ‘It most likely may not affect you while you’re playing.’ Arthritis is not going to set in immediately. That would be the most limiting thing with this type of injury.”
Read the full article here.
