Wan’Dale Robinson "close" to returning for New York Giants

New York Giants rookie Wan’Dale Robinson is inching closer to a return after a brief injury scare to open the season.

The former Kentucky star went down with a knee injury in his team’s season-opening road win over the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 11, with the Giants declaring him out shortly after. He finished his debut with one catch for five years in nine total snaps.

Despite the scare, initial x-rays were negative to go with a clean MRI. New York officially listed him as day-to-day before later declaring him out for the team’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2.

Where do things stand going into Week 3 when the Giants are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys? Robinson is making real progress, but it likely won’t be enough to take the field in the rivalry matchup.

“Getting better, close,” NYG head coach Brian Daboll said Wednesday. “For this week, I’m not sure.”

Robinson was seen working with trainers off to the side during practice yesterday, but did not participate in any team drills. He did not return to practice Thursday, either.

The Giants are playing wait-and-see with Robinson, but it appears the former Wildcat will miss the Monday Night Football matchup vs. Dallas before returning to game action at home against the Chicago Bears next week.

The 5-foot-8 wide receiver was selected in the second round at No. 43 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was the first of four Wildcats selected, followed by Josh Paschal (Detroit Lions, second round), Luke Fortner (Jacksonville Jaguars, third round) and Darian Kinnard (Kansas City Chiefs, fifth round).

In three college seasons — two at Nebraska and one at Kentucky — Robinson racked up 2,2448 yards and ten touchdowns to go with 691 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. During his lone season at Kentucky, he caught a school record 104 receptions for 1,334 yards to go with seven touchdowns, rankings fourth nationally and second in the SEC in receptions per game (8.0). He became the sixth player in SEC history to catch at least 100 passes in a season and had six 100-yard games, good for second on UK’s single-season list. He joined Randall Cobb as the only players in school history with multiple games of at least 12 receptions. Robinson finished his career as MVP of the Vrbo Citrus Bowl after setting Kentucky bowl records with 10 receptions for 170 yards vs. Iowa.

After a brief setback to open his time in the NFL, the former Wildcat is nearing a return.