EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Quarterback Eli Manning suffered a big gash to the left side of his temple and left the New York Giants’ preseason game against the New York Jets on Monday night.
Manning left the field at the New Meadowlands Stadium with a towel held to the left side of his head to limit the bleeding. He was accompanied by two Giants trainers.
The team announced that Manning got 12 stitches to close a 3-inch gash to his head. He would not return to the game. He showed no signs of a concussion, the team added, and was sent home by the Giants’ medical staff.
“I feel fine. I feel normal,” Manning said. “The play was my fault. We had a run play with an option to throw a fade that I thought I might try, but Brandon (Jacobs) was coming right up the middle. Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head. It’s preseason, you learn from it.”
Manning said he will be back soon, that he didn’t really sustain an injury.
“I really feel like I could go back out and play right now if I had to,” he said.
Fans gave him an ovation as he walked off the field with 10:45 left in the second quarter.
Manning was hurt on a third-down, play-action pass from the Jets 5-yard line that started out all wrong.
Big halfback Brandon Jacobs ran into Manning with his shoulder on the fake handoff, knocking the ball out of the quarterback’s hands and slightly into the air.
As Manning reached to catch it, Jets linebacker Calvin Pace slammed the quarterback in the middle of his back, knocking Manning’s helmet off and pushing him face first forward, where the quarterback’s head slammed into either Jets safety Jim Leonhard or Jacobs, who were standing next to each other.
Manning immediately fell to the turf and put his hand to his head. He quickly motioned to the training staff for help once he saw his hand covered in blood.
Replays showed blood gushing from Manning’s head shortly after he fell to the ground.
Jacobs recovered the fumble.
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