avoided

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart appears to have avoided a “devastating outcome” after leaving Monday night’s game against the Rams with a left knee injury, coach John Harbaugh told reporters following his team’s 28-6 loss at SoFi Stadium.

Harbaugh stopped short of confirming the multiple media reports that Dart suffered a sprained MCL when his leg bent in an unnatural manner after he was hit hard by Rams linebackers Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart early in the first quarter.

“That’s in the neighborhood of it, I would say,” Harbaugh said of those reports after the his team’s 28-6 loss. “We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and have a real good feel for it, and give you more information from there.”

SNY Giants reports that Dart could miss two to four weeks with the injury. Still, it could have been much worse. A torn ACL could have ended the season for the second-year quarterback who missed two games last year after sustaining a concussion.

“Never play to hurt anybody,” Young, a fourth-year player and 2025 Pro Bowl selection for the Rams, posted in an Instagram Story after the game. “I pray for a healthy recovery.”

Former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning seemed to fear the worst while watching the situation unfold live on their alternative broadcast of the game on ESPN2.

“Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no,” Peyton Manning said as he watched Dart writhe on the ground while holding his knee. “That is not what we want to see. Gosh!”

“Tough to watch,” Eli Manning said as a replay aired. “Hate to see that. Hope he’s OK.”

Dart was able walk off the field and into the locker room gingerly but under his own power. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported that the former USC and Mississippi quarterback actually wanted to return to the game but was not allowed to do so by his team.

Instead, Dart watched the second half from the sideline in street clothes, with video appearing to show him telling someone, “They wouldn’t let me come back out.”

Veteran quarterback Jameis Winston filled in for Dart and completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with one interception.

Dart was one of several key Giants (1-1) players to suffer injuries during the loss. Top pass rusher Brian Burns sprained his left ankle and left tackle Andrew Thomas sustained an apparent lower-body injury, with neither player returning to the game.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers had to pop his right shoulder into place after dislocating it during the first quarter. He stayed in the game but indicated afterward he would undergo X-rays the next day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field Thursday night after he took a knee to the head during a collision with pitcher Nolan McLean while both players were trying to make a play on a ground ball hit by Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford.

Young, who landed face-first in the dirt, reportedly was briefly knocked unconscious during the sixth-inning incident at Citi Field.

“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the game. “He was just somewhere else.”

Young was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, however, as he was driven off. Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters after the game that it “feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”

A CT scan at a hospital was negative, said Green, who added that Young had concussion symptoms but also had full use of his extremities.

Still, Green said after his team’s 3-0 loss, “it was a terrifying moment on a baseball field. Took him a while to come to. It was a really scary collision.”

McLean remained in the game and struck out Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs to end the inning. He was replaced by reliever Tobias Myers in the seventh.

Young, 31, has been a bright spot for the Mets (69-84) during his first full season, hitting .266 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.

“He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for,” Lindor said. “He’s been a big part of our team this whole year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.