Phillips Back At Stadium

Kenny Phillips was already moving around his left knee at Giants Stadium, two days after undergoing microfracture surgery. Nothing strenuous, mind you. Just some mobilization and then some ice.

"“Just movement so I don’t get stiff, moving the knee cap around so it doesn’t stiffen on me,” Phillips told Mike Eisen of Giants.com. “Nothing strenuous, no weights, just trying to get the movement back in my knee and get the quad stronger.

“The surgery was quick (less than two hours), but the rehab is the most important thing. It’s one of the longest rehabs; they said it will be four to five months before I can run. They said it’s real boring; it’s like watching paint dry. It’s not painful, just long. I definitely want to get back to being 100 percent and get back on the field. I am going to do everything they say I should do.”

Phillips wore a splint, but said he doesn't even need crutches. Because the problem was on the femor and not the kneecap, he said he feels no pain and is completely off the painkillers the doctors prescribed.

Phillips said he'll probably make himself scarce around the locker room, just as Osi Umenyiora did last year as he rehabbed from his knee surgery. The safety went to Umenyiora for advice on how to handle himself during rehab.

“It’s definitely hard to be around -- I might run out there,” Phillips said. “So I am going to try and stay away from the game as much as possible. I talked to Osi (Umenyiora) and asked him what he did last year and he pretty much tried to stay away from it as much as he could, because the more you think about it the more you are going to be down and get down on yourself, the more you want to rush it back. So just kind of free your mind and get away from it all.

“I want to be around them but at the same I don’t, because they have something to look forward to tomorrow. They have plays, things to go over. I don’t have anything other than going in for treatment. Our mindsets are totally different right now. But last week they came over, watched the (Monday night) game, ordered food. They have been keeping in touch. All the DBs, (Aaron) Ross, (Kevin) Dockery, everybody has been real supportive. So have the coaches. That makes me feel good and I appreciate it. But at the same time it makes me feel bad a little bit because I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me, because that is going to bring my spirits down. Its kind of 50-50 with me.”

As he said on his personal blog the other day, he plans to be back.

“Probably even better,” Phillips said. “The surgery went well, all our trainers feel that this is something I can definitely recover from and come back 100 percent. So I am feeling good about it.”

EP