New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo has disclosed that he feared his foot would need to be amputated after suffering a right ankle dislocation, an open tibia fracture, and a ruptured deltoid ligament that ended his 2025 season.
The injury occurred early in the season, and Skattebo said he considered retirement during his recovery. This week, he and the Giants released an hour-long documentary detailing his rehabilitation process.
In the documentary, Skattebo described a premonition before the game where he was injured. "Before the game, I actually had an out-of-body experience," he said. "We were all praying in the showers. I was holding both my teammates' hands. It almost felt like, when we were praying, my body was lifted out of my own body. It was weird. I didn't feel like I was in the present me. I didn't feel like myself."
After the injury, Skattebo recalled asking doctors if they would have to cut off his foot. "When I first got hurt, like I'm asking the doctors, like, they're going to have to cut my foot off," he said. "As soon as the doctor touched my foot, I felt pain. He snapped (my ankle) back into place, and it was like, 'A sigh of relief.' Once I got in the X-Ray room, they cut my shoe off, they cut my sock off, I was a half-second from passing out because I had dislocated it so far that the skin ripped."
Skattebo did not require amputation and returned to the field this season. In his most recent game against the Houston Texans, he rushed 17 times for 124 yards and a touchdown, marking his best performance of the year. He had been benched in the previous game following a fumble, taking only six snaps with zero carries.
Early in the season, Skattebo averaged just 3.6 yards per carry over the first five games, a struggle likely linked to the lingering effects of his injury. Now, with the Giants having released Najee Harris and placed Tyrone Tracy Jr. on injured reserve, Skattebo has emerged as the team's lead running back.
