Nick Gates

On September 16, 2021 I was pass blocking against the Washington Football Team when suddenly I heard a crack and pop. Next thing I knew I was on my back and immediately noticed my foot was bent all the way to the left. In that moment I knew my season was done. The injury was quickly diagnosed as a broken left fibula and tibia and I was in the operating room in DC within 12 hours to get my leg realigned with a rod.

24 hours after my initial surgery, the muscles in my leg began to swell and I started showing signs of compartment syndrome. With compartment syndrome if you do not catch it in enough time the muscles and nerves in your leg could die, and if bad enough you could have your entire leg amputated. Luckily, they caught it with enough time and, once again, I was rushed into the emergency room to release the swelling. I spent the following two weeks in a hospital in Virginia and had a total of five surgeries.

5 months after the initial surgery I was still dealing with complications and healing was not progressing as expected. Dr. Scott Rodeo, HSS sports medicine surgeon and Giants Head Team Physician, suggested I visit Dr. David Helfet, HSS orthopedic trauma services, for a CT scan. The results clearly showed that the leg had not fully healed and that I had an infection in my tibia. Dr. Helfet had to go back into my leg to clean out the wound and replace the rod to optimize the healing area.

I had never had a major injury like this in my career and was motivated to come back better than before. On October 30, 2022, 410 days after my leg injury, I was able to return to NFL action. There were a lot of emotions throughout that game, but I was excited to be back out there with my teammates. Thanks to HSS, my HSS doctors - Dr. Helfet and Dr. Rodeo, as well as the surgeons and staff at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus in VA, I was able to get back to doing what I love and to help the Giants secure a 2023 playoff berth. Throughout the entire process the Inova Fairfax and HSS teams guided and supported me during my recovery journey. Without them I would not be where I am today.