Report: Giants' Phillips ahead of schedule with rehab

Injuries piled up in a hurry on defense for the New York Giants last season, and one of the biggest blows was losing starting safety Kenny Phillips after two weeks to a degenerative arthritic condition in his left knee.

He allayed fears that it’s going to be an issue that impacts him this coming season in a report by Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger, but Phillips had microfracture surgery after having an impactful start to the season at a position where the Giants were looking for a shining star. New defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has to hope he can return to form.

“It’s fixable, very fixable. A lot of guys have had it,” Phillips told Garafolo. “It should be a full recovery.”

But it’s rare for a player as young as Phillips to have his condition, patellofemoral arthritis, which leads to a hole in the cartilage in the knee. As he continued to play, the hole got larger. He suffered swelling, no pain, and his play suffered.

“I thought it was going to be a great year for me and the team,” he said. “But stuff happens.”

A team spokesman told Garafolo that Phillips is not experiencing swelling and the rehabilitation is going so well that he’s ahead of schedule. He’s now jogging in a pool and they’re not pushing him with the season so far off. Garafolo reports he’s scheduled to run March 29, six months after the surgery.

If he can return to form and be an emerging stalwart in the back half of the defense, Fewell’s job will be easier. No question about that.
 

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