Xavier McKinney got the pins removed from three fingers on his broken left hand but still has an itch he can’t shake.
McKinney won’t play for the Giants on Sunday against the Eagles — the starting safety’s fifth straight game on the sidelines in the aftermath of a Can-Am all-terrain vehicle crash in Mexico during the bye week — but he has his eye on rejoining the playoff race sometime during the final four games of the regular season.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” McKinney said Friday, two days after undergoing minor surgery. “That’s still the plan, obviously, to get back.
“Everything has been positive so far. I’ve been having good movement with my fingers. Hopefully, I can get out there as soon as I can. I’m trying my best. But all I can do is let it heal, let them keep helping me rehab it and go from there.”
If McKinney’s only path back to the field is to wrap his hand like a club, so be it. It’s a win for the Giants if his biggest concern is how to catch an interception.
“I played with a club before in college in a couple practices, so I know what it feels like,” McKinney said. “I think I can play in a club, for sure. I don’t mind it. It’ll be harder because you can’t really catch the ball. But you can always body-catch, too. That’s what a lot of people do, anyways.”
McKinney, who is eligible to come off the Non-Football Injury list, said he is pain-free but the Giants limited his physical activity until this week. Friday was his first day running on a treadmill.
“I was on [the stationary] bike before,” McKinney said. “I could’ve run before, but they wanted me to wait until the pins came out. I’m still in shape. So, I’m good. I’m probably going to start running outside at some point and convince them.”
The next steps are a CT scan and more exercises to strengthen his middle three fingers.
“Mentally, it’s been a lot for me, I’m not going to lie,” McKinney said. “Every Sunday — really, every day when they go out there and practice — just knowing that I can’t be out there with them … it hurts a lot. Credit to the coaches. Credit to everybody that’s been in the building just keeping me in high spirits. And, I got my family, too, keeping me in high spirits.”
