New York Giants star Nick Gates suffered a horrific leg injury Thursday night ... and it was so bad, he said afterward that he "snapped that s*** in half."
The offensive lineman -- who had just been named a Giants captain for the season -- was attempting to block for Daniel Jones in the first quarter of NY's loss to Washington, when his leg got rolled up on from behind.
WARNING - this is ugly.
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) September 17, 2021
I hate doing this, but seeing as the broadcast isn't showing a replay, here's the footage we got of the Nick Gates injury.
Look at the bottom right of the video. pic.twitter.com/RlAspV4hHb
In footage of the play, you can see a WFT defender landed right on the back of his leg ... causing it to completely break.
The injury was so bad ... NFL Network did not show a replay of the play.
Gates screamed out in pain for several moments, before trainers and doctors took him off the field and into the locker room on a cart.
Nick is expected to undergo surgery in the D.C. area Friday morning ... and will almost certainly miss the rest of the season.
The good news -- if there can be such a thing with this kind of injury -- Gates was upbeat after it all, with his agent, Jonathan Perzley, saying Nick "laughed on the phone and said 'I snapped that s*** in half.'"
"He will be back," Perzley added. "It would take a lot more than a broken bone to stop that man."
Gates also posted a statement on his social media, promising to return better than ever.
"Going to be a hell of a comeback!" he said.
Get well soon, Nick.