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The NFL franchise stated on Saturday that Evan Neal, the normal right offensive lineman for the New York Giants, will not play on Monday night.

Due to ankle problems, the former Alabama All-American has not practiced with the team since Nov. 3. He will miss his fourth straight game and his sixth out of the last seven games for the Giants.

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“That’s not something that I can control necessarily,” Neal said this week, “so I don’t really want to harp on it too much. But in life, unexpected things happen, so I’m really just rolling with the punches, controlling everything that I can control so when the opportunity does present itself for me to go back out on the field, I’ll be ready.”

The seventh player picked in the 2022 NFL Draft, Neal entered his second season with expectations of improvement after starting 13 games as a rookie while the Giants posted a 9-7-1 record and went to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

But 2023 has turned into a lost season for New York, with injuries contributing to the Giants’ 4-8 record. New York has 10 players on injured reserve, including quarterback Daniel Jones and tight end Darren Waller.

But New York hasn’t put Neal on IR, hoping to get him back on the offensive line this season.

“He’s rehabbing,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “He’s in here often with the trainers, doing everything he can do to get back as soon as he can.”

When Neal comes back, New York general manager Joe Schoen wants to see more from him.

“Evan got off to a really good camp,” Schoen said during his most recent press conference on Nov. 27. “Had a concussion, missed a couple of weeks, came back and needs to play better. Evan needs to play better. He knows that. Look forward to getting him back here when he’s healthy, but I think he’d admit there’s some things that he can do better, and we look forward to him continuing to improve.”

Neal answered, “Of course I can” when asked if he could become as dominant in the NFL as he was at Alabama.

“I’ve put a lot of dominant reps on tape,” Neal said. “A lot of times, they go unnoticed. A lot of times, the reps that I struggle get highlighted. But if you really sit back and watch the tape, I do a lot of good things. I do a lot of dominant things on the football field that a lot of times go unnoticed, but that’s the nature of being an offensive lineman. You’re not noticed until you mess up, pretty much. You know what I’m saying? So it is what it is.

“I have to continue to get better. I know I have a lot of work to do, and I embrace it with a smile on my face, so that’s where I’m at.”

The Giants have five games left in the regular season, starting with the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. The Philadelphia Eagles, who own the NFL’s best record, are the opponent in two of New York’s final three games, so it would be understandable if the Giants started looking ahead to 2024.

But Neal wants to play again in 2023.

“Whenever that day gets here, that’s when it gets here,” Neal said. “Hell, yeah, I want to go back out there this season. But just going to see where I’m at, see how I progress and move forward from there.”

The Giants and Packers kick off at 7:15 p.m. CST Monday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.