Malik Nabers returns to practice after ACL and meniscus tear surgery

New York Giants fans were enthralled to see one player in particular participating in practice on Wednesday.

Malik Nabers, who suffered a serious knee injury in Week 4 of last season, “looked good,” according to his new head coach John Harbaugh, as he went through a full practice much to the delight of everyone involved with the organization.

While there is no commitment on a timeline for the 2024 first-rounder, seeing Nabers out on the field was quite the surprise for many.

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New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers practices during NFL training camp Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Nabers’ injury wasn’t a simple knee tear, as he had to wait for swelling to go down before undergoing surgery. Then, in the spring, Nabers had to get scar tissue removed from the same knee, while eliminating stiffness he felt.

After undergoing two surgeries and remaining sidelined, Nabers’ status for Week 1, or the first few weeks of the season, was up in the air.

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But general manager Joe Schoen also enjoyed seeing him running around at The Greenbrier in West Virginia to start off camp.

“We’ve got a really good plan for him,” Schoen said. “The medical staff has a really good plan for him, and we’re going to always say listen to the patients. So, we’re going to see how he reacts. We got a good plan in place, so as long as everything goes as planned, we’ll listen to Malik and his body. And, again, hopefully he’ll be ready and we’ll see how it plays out. But no predictions right now, just because we have a long way to go. Still a lot of camp.”

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) catches a pass as Dallas Cowboys cornerback Kaiir Elam (20) defends in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Nabers tore his ACL and suffered a full meniscus tear after jumping for a pass in quarterback Jaxson Dart’s first career start. He immediately clutched his knee, silencing the MetLife Stadium crowd as fans feared the worst while he was carted off the field.

Nabers remained in New Jersey this summer, though, working alongside the Giants’ medical team on his recovery. The injury occurring early in the season gave the team hope he would be back healthy for Week 1, and after not being put on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp, Nabers was on the right track.

“It was great. You saw him. He looked good,” Harbaugh said after watching Nabers. “He’s got a process going. Thought he looked good.”

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers looks on before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 21, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

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Dart, who said happy birthday to his top receiver on Instagram as Nabers turned 23, loved being able to throw to him on day one.

“He definitely has a presence about him,” Dart said of Nabers. “There’s an aura that he has on the field that is exhilarating. It makes me happy. It makes everybody happy just to see him out there. I think for him, he’s had a lot of positives. We’re just going to continue to get him in slowly. He’s doing a great job with how he’s attacking his recovery. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him and his approach to the game, how much he’s missed being out there with the guys. I think it’s definitely, for him — I don’t want to speak for him too much, but I just think it’s a really good feeling for him to just be out there with the team and to be involved.”

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