Giants great Tiki Barber concerned about Malik Nabers' knee injury

There is concern among the New York Giants community regarding the health of star wide receiver Malik Nabers, who recently underwent a second procedure on his knee.

The third-year wideout tore both his ACL and meniscus in Week 4 last year and underwent surgery in late October to repair both issues. He apparently needed a second surgery several weeks ago to "clean up" scar tissue that was causing stiffness.

It is not known whether this second surgery will affect Nabers' timeline for return. He is expected to be a participant in the Giants' training camp, which begins in late July. He has been present at the team's offseason workout program but has only been spotted in the weight room and classrooms.

Tiki Barber, the Giants' all-time leading rusher and current radio show host on WFAN in New York, has his doubts. Barber voiced his concern this week that Nabers' knee might become a "constant issue."

"This worries me because of the experience that I — not myself had, but my son had," Barber said, "So, when you tear your ACL, and it's — let's say it's a clean tear of your ACL — it is so easy to have that surgery done, wait a couple weeks, you strengthen your quad, you have the, the repair.

"The hard part is the rehab, getting the flexibility back. It is what it is. Ultimately, it comes back and you're fine. Guys play with repaired and rehabbed ACLs all the time.

"It's when you also tear your meniscus that it becomes an issue because it's hard to repair that fatty pad tissue. And my son Chasen had his rookie season at Brown -- tore his ACL but also damaged his meniscus."

Barber said his son was not the same after that and ended his pursuit of a football career, taking a job in investment banking instead.

"Football just kind of ended mainly because he never got right with his, with his knee," he said.

Barber then equated his son's injury to Nabers':

"Malik Nabers, who is an elite athlete. He's not a 6-foot-5 wide receiver, but he thrives on his athleticism. And the only way, as a bounding athletic athlete, you feel comfortable is if you don't have pain. You know what I mean?" Barber said. "It's not like — you're not thinking about jumping off your damaged knee, and because you have pain. Now, the ACL is not going to be the painful part. It's going to be the meniscus.