Illinois received some heartbreaking news on Monday.

During his weekly press conference, Illini head coach Lovie Smith announced that wide receiver Mike Dudek suffered a season-ending knee injury during Illinois’ 31-24 win over Kent State.

“Some things are hard to understand,” Smith said of Dudek’s injury. “Mike’s meant so much to our program.

“We’re in mourning over there. Mike’s one of the all-time favorites. When you fight through adversity the way he has, it’s just tough. He’s come back from tough situations before. He’ll do that again.”

Dudek’s career has been hampered by injuries since his breakout season as a freshman in 2014. He missed all of the 2015 and 2016 seasons with injury. Last year, he played in seven games for the Illini before suffering another injury that forced him to miss the final five games of the year.

In 2014, Dudek had 76 catches for 1,038 yards and six touchdowns. Since that time, he’s appeared in just eight games, hauling in 28 receptions for 327 yards and a touchdown.

Here’s the full clip of Smith’s comments regarding Dudek from his press conference on Monday: