Larry Donnell plays two days after being carted off the practice field

It’s not very often that a player is carted off the practice field with a knee injury and plays in a game two days later. But TE Larry Donnell did just that, suiting up and taking snaps against the Colts after leaving Friday’s practice on four wheels with his leg being attended to by trainers.

“It was a shock just going down like that, but it was a blessing to be back and I feel good, I feel healthy,” he said.

Donnell was leaping for a high pass in practice when he came down awkwardly and fell to the ground. He immediately clutched his knee and was carted off. An MRI showed no structural damage and the Giants called the injury a sprain. On Saturday, Donnell participated in the walk-through but he was listed among the players not expected to participate in the game as late as Sunday evening.

And then there he was, out on the field.

“I take my hat off to Larry Donnell,” Tom Coughlin said. “I was afraid of the seriousness. He came back with the ligaments in tact but we thought he would be sore. He vowed that he wanted to play … His attitude, really, more than anything else, determined that he wanted to play and he did.”

Donnell, who is fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster, said he knew that he would be playing in this game as soon as he left the hospital with the positive news from the MRI on Friday night.

“In my mind I’m like, ‘If one leg is still there, I’m going,’” he said.