Seubert has dislocated kneecap
Giants guard Rich Seubert is taken off the field during the game against the Washington Redskins at Fedex Field, Sunday. (Jan. 2, 2011) Credit: The Star-Ledger
LANDOVER, Md. - Everyone on the field and on the sideline saw Rich Seubert go down with 8:57 left in the first quarter and knew it was something bad. "He wouldn't lay on the field like that if it wasn't major," Chris Snee said.
It is major. He has a dislocated kneecap and likely a torn patella tendon in his right knee.
It's the same leg that shattered in such a gruesome fashion against the Eagles in 2003, but Seubert is confident he'll be back next season.
"They can fix it. They've fixed worse before," he told Newsday as he walked to the team bus on crutches after the game. "It's the same leg [as 2003], but it's the knee. Nothing's broken."
Seubert said the doctors told him he has no damage to his ACL, though he'll have an MRI exam Monday and surgery to repair the dislocation Tuesday or Wednesday.
The 10-year veteran worked his way back from missing a season and a half after that 2003 injury, then worked his way back from being a reserve to starting at right guard for a Super Bowl champion.
This season, he worked his way into comfort as the fill-in center for nine games, taking over smoothly for injured Pro Bowler Shaun O'Hara. Kevin Boothe took over for Seubert Sunday and played capably, but seeing Seubert writhing in pain - he nearly threw trainer Ronnie Barnes across the field when the medical staff was examining his knee - had a big impact.
"Why guys like that get hurt, I don't know," Tom Coughlin said. "Talk about heart and soul, the way he played this year and the things he was able to accomplish for our team. Everybody knows what he's been through and what it means."
Seubert sat in the trainer's room for the rest of the game, watching his team on television and following the Packers game on his phone. When his teammates came in at halftime, the man of few words had only three: "Win the game."
"He's everything you want a New York Giant to be," Snee said. "But I'm sure he'll be doing rehab all offseason, still be miserable and come back strong next year."
Seubert would have missed the playoffs if the Giants had gotten in, but that didn't lessen the sting of the Packers result. "We've got a long offseason ahead of us," he said. "All of us."
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