Giants coach Daboll says Saquon Barkley’s ankle improving and he won’t rule him out vs. Niners

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Saquon Barkley’s sprained right ankle is showing signs of improvement and New York Giants coach Brian Daboll on Tuesday refused to rule him out for a game against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

“He’s a lot better than I thought he would be today,” Daboll said Tuesday in a Zoom call from Tempe, Arizona, where the Giants (1-1) are staying to prepare for Thursday night’s game in Santa Clara, California, against the San Francisco 49ers (2-0).

New York beat the Cardinals 31-28 on Sunday in Arizona after trailing 20-0 at halftime.

The Giants held a walkthrough workout on Monday and were scheduled to have another on Tuesday in what Daboll said is basically a few days of mental preparation for the game.

Barkley hurt his ankle late in the fourth quarter when he was tackled after a short run on the game-winning field-goal drive. He had to be helped to the bench.

Daboll said on Tuesday that Barkley has a sprained ankle. There was speculation the 26-year-old running back would be out up to three weeks.

Daboll said Barkley has made considerable progress, adding “he feels a lot better today.”

Starting left tackle Andrew Thomas injured a hamstring in the season opener against Dallas and Daboll said in the week leading up to the Arizona game that it would be a game-time decision. He didn’t play. This week he said the same thing about Thomas and Barkley.

Daboll said left guard Ben Bredeson, who sustained a concussion Sunday, probably will not play. Inside linebacker Micah McFadden should be good to go despite tweaking his neck against Arizona.

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