Barkley isn't playing Thursday at San Francisco due to a "high-ankle sprain," Taylor Rooks reported on NFL on Prime's broadcast.
It's thus no shock that Barkley isn't suiting up four days removed from suffering an ankle injury at the tail end of this past Sunday's win in Arizona. But considering high-ankle sprains often are accompanied by multi-game absences, his status for Week 4 and beyond now is in question. The Giants don't play again until Monday, Oct. 2 against the Seahawks, so Barkley does have a bit more time to recover than normal. If Barkley needs to miss more than one game, Matt Breida should be the main beneficiary out of New York's backfield, with Gary Brightwell and Eric Gray also available for lingering RB reps.