Giants running back Saquon Barkley carted off after nasty injury vs. Cowboys

The New York Giants saw running back Saquon Barkley suffer a frustrating injury in the first quarter that forced him to be carted off the field. Barkley appeared to injure his ankle on accidental contact with his own teammate, forcing him off the field before being carted off into the locker room.

Saquon Barkley’s injured ankle pic.twitter.com/rcSVhRzGE9

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 10, 2021

Giants Saquon Barkley injured again

After a long recovery process following an ACL tear against the Chicago Bears in just the second week of last season, Barkley returned to the Giants looking to make an immediate impact. The injury suffered against the Cowboys on Sunday is even more frustrating given his recent history.

After limping off the field, Barkley went to the sideline where he received medical attention. The severity of the injury forced medical staff to remove Barkley’s cleats, revealing the extent of his swelling to cameras.

Barkley was then carted off the field into the locker room for additional medical care and has been ruled out for the rest of the game against the Cowboys. While the extent of his injury is unknown immediately, the Giants are hoping Saquon Barkley will not miss significant time with this newest injury.

Barkley’s return this season a “blessing”

After almost a year recovering from injury, Barkley made his much anticipated return to the Giants in Week 1. While the performance of the New York Giants left much to be desired, Saquon Barkley simply returning to the field from his injury was a small victory.

Following the game, the former Penn State star counted his blessings.

“I feel pretty good. It’s not my normal workload,” Barkley said via ProFootballTalk. “Usually, I’d probably have a lot more plays, but that’s all I’m saying. Obviously, we didn’t get the win. We’ve got go back, watch film, address it and get better for next week. 

“But at the end of the day, it’s a blessing that I was able to — it was a milestone for me, I guess that you could say. I put a lot of hard work to be able get to get back on the field and I was able to accomplish that. It just didn’t go the way we would’ve liked. Great thing is there’s 16 more of those things to come.”

While Barkley’s performance was a milestone for himself, it also impressed his teammates and coaches. Following the game, wide receiver Sterling Shepard spoke about seeing what he wanted from his teammate.

“Coming off an injury like that, a lot of the stuff is mental,” said Shepard via ESPN. “I didn’t sense he had any mental stuff going on. I felt he hit the hole hard, took some hits. That is what I wanted to see, to be able to bounce back up and keep on pushing.”

Saquon Barkley’s ankle injury against the Cowboys on Sunday will continue to test his mental strength through frustration.

On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this article.