Terrell Thomas uncertain when he'll return to field

ALBANY -- Terrell Thomas returned to the team with many answers. He knows he won't need surgery on his ACL, which he says he "aggravated." He understands that he'll need to rest the knee for a while, balancing that downtime with rehabilitation. And, of course, he vowed that he would play for the Giants in 2012.

The only question he could not answer is the one everyone is asking: When?

It's a bit uncommon for a player coming off ACL surgery -- especially when it is an allograft, or the use of a cadaver's ligaments in the reconstruction like Thomas' was -- to reinjure the ligament and not require surgery. Normally the ACL will stretch and become unstable and need to be replaced again. In Thomas' case, though, the knee seems to be stable despite the swelling that occurred after he slipped in drills last Sunday.

Because of the unique nature of this injury, then, there is no certain timetable for his return. Unlike Hakeem Nicks, who was given 12 weeks to return from surgery on the broken bone in his foot and who seems ready to stick the landing on that prognosis with gold medal-worth flourish, no one is uncertain how long it will take Thomas.

"It's certainly not a normal circumstance," Tom Coughlin said.

"I never heard anybody really aggravating their ACL or stretching it out and kind of having a timeline," Thomas said. "It's not like I tore my MCL and it takes four weeks to heal. I truly don't know. It's really based on how I feel, how my knee feels and how I react to the rehab."

Thomas' best guess is anywhere from less than a month to the middle of October.

"I think it's something that can be three weeks or something that can be eight weeks, to be honest with you," he said. "I think the Giants want to be very cautious. I think it's smart being that I re-aggravated it. I think the big picture is the long run, the rest of the season, get into the playoffs, and not start in Week 1."

When Thomas left the team last week to zigzag across the country from New York to California to Florida in search of answers, he saw a lot of dour and depressed looks on his teammates' faces. Those looks were different when he returned with his good news.

"Smiles," Thomas said. "Everybody was relieved. I was a big-time player for us . . . Before I left I just told everybody that, you know, it's OK. I tried to give them a positive feed."

Thomas admitted he braced for bad news, but he never felt he was badly injured.

"I don't plan on having any more setbacks," he said. "I think this is just a minor scare more than anything."

Thomas said he felt well enough to practice Wednesday if he had to. He said he has not experienced any swelling since he flew to California last week to see Dr. Arthur Ting, who performed Thomas' previous two ACL reconstructions, including the one last September.

He's still grappling with the emotions, though. He admitted to being frustrated at not being on the field now, something he had focused on throughout his rehabilitation this offseason. He said the good news "still hasn't hit me yet." And he said there will be some mental hurdles to overcome once he does return to the field.

"I think it comes natural," he said. "I mean, at first, when I came in here I was very confident in myself . . . I think it's going to take time in my rehab process to start building that confidence and that strength back up. Once I'm ready, I'll be able to go."

It's just a matter of how long that will take.