The New York Giants' middle linebacker Jon Beason's broken right foot will keep the tackler out of most of the team's training camp, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Beason suffered a small fracture while practicing at the team's East Rutherford, N.J. Quest Diagnostics Center field house Thursday. He also ripped a ligament while breaking up a pass play during an offseason organized team activity training workout. According to giants.com, the defender expects to play in the team's Sept. 8 road regular season opener against the Detroit Lions.
Beason said he did nothing out of the ordinary to cause the unfortunate event.
"It's just one of those things - you have freak injuries," Beason said in an article on the team's website. "I was just changing directions. I would say that the movement was a little unorthodox, I was flexing with the big toe in the ground and then I pivoted on it all the way around. It's a movement that I often do that allows me to come in and out of my breaks faster. I literally felt like I stepped in like a sprinkler head hole. I just felt it give right away, so the next step I knew I couldn't put the foot down."
Beason was able to strut off the field on his own two feet before Giant's medical staff transported him to a medical room for evaluation.
Beason mentioned he is glad he will still have another chance to play on the gridiron, once the injury heals.
"I had a bad feeling. I really felt that I had torn the extensor, which is the tendon with the muscle, it's how your big toe functions," Beason said in the statement. "That would have been season-ending. So at least now there's a procedure, possibly. We haven't decided if it's something that's invasive or something that you just kind of let heal on its own. The timeframe is about the same, but it's not season-ending, so I'm happy about that."
Beason tallied eight tackles in eight games for the G-Men in 2013.
Giant's head football coach told AP that Beason is a crucial part to the team's defensive backfield.
"He's very important, because of the nature of the man, the player, his attitude, his leadership skills, what he brings to the table, he's very important," Tom Coughlin said.
