When the Giants disclosed yesterday that Eli Manning had been suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot for several weeks, it was a surprise to everyone outside the organization since they had never disclosed the injury. And that appeared to be a violation of the NFL’s injury report policy.
But the NFL asked the Giants today for an explanation of the omission, and the league announced that no such violation of rules had occurred.
“We accept the distinction between plantar fasciitis as an irritation that is not a reportable injury versus a sprain, strain, fracture, dislocation, or in this case an injured plantar fascia that is reportable,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail. “As soon as the Giants took an MRI on Eli Manning’s foot and determined he had injured the plantar fascia, the team disclosed it publicly. The injury report does not require the listing of every sore or irritated body part unless it is severe enough to affect the player’s ability to participate in practice or games.”
Manning has obviously not missed a practice or game this season, and he even said yesterday that any pain he had been feeling in his right foot was “nothing that’s been an issue.”