New York Giants left tackle Nate Solder, a prized free agent acquisition a season ago and a main cog of the team’s revamped offensive line, missed the entirety of minicamp and all organized team activities to date due to a mid-May surgery.
Solder had undergone arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs in his ankle, which was considered a minor procedure that would only require a few weeks to recover.
Those few weeks have come and gone and Solder remains sidelined. And while initial expectations were that he’d return in time for training camp, that now appears to be up in the air as well.
Speaking with reporters in East Rutherford on the final day of minicamp on Thursday, Solder refused to commit to a training camp return, leaving some room for speculation that perhaps there was more to the surgery than meets the eye.
At the time it was revealed Solder underwent surgery — May 16 — David J. Chao, MD, who served as an NFL team doctor for 17 years, raised some concerns over the recovery timetable.
While Dr. Chao initially clarified his diagnosis based on the belief that Solder would be back in time for camp, looking at his comments in hindsight is cause for concern.
Considering the Giants report to training camp on July 24, that would mean Solder had 10 full weeks to recover. Needless to say, if he’s unable to get on the field on Day 1 of camp, it would seem to imply a much more serious ankle injury than a mere clean-out.
We won’t know any more about Solder’s status until camp, but it will certainly be something worth monitoring.
