May 24, 2012 – Staying at the top won’t be easy for the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. The team announced on Thursday afternoon that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks fractured his foot at the Giants Organized Team Activities (OTAs). The injury was suffered during an individual drill on Thursday morning and is expected to keep him out up to 12 weeks. Nicks will undergo surgery tomorrow to have a screw inserted into the broken bone. The procedure will be performed by noted foot and ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, N.C. The expected recovery time for Nicks is approximately 12 weeks. The Giants report to training camp at the University at Albany on July 26. This could push into the Giants preseason schedule, which starts in August. Nicks is one of the most important receivers on the Giants roster and he’s put up some very good numbers in his first three years with Eli Manning passing the 1,000 yard mark in each of the last two seasons.

If everything goes according to plan, he should be fine for opening kick off. But its still gotta scare Giants fans a bit when you go from the best trio wide receiver core in the league down to just Victor Cruz throughout all of training camp.

Then again, Victor Cruz came out of nowhere and stepped up after some unexpected injuries so who know what happens between now and September. Could open the door for someone else to shine while Nicks recovers. Who knows.