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PJ Fleck confirms long-term injury status of star RB Mo Ibrahim
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The news every Gophers football fan feared has come.
On Monday, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck confirmed that Gophers star running back Mo Ibrahim will have season-ending surgery from his lower-leg injury sustained during Thursday’s season-opening loss to Ohio State.
Ibrahim is the reigning B1G RB of the Year, and had run for 163 yards on 30 carries for the Gophers against the Buckeyes, but late in the third period, he left the field after what appeared to be a serious lower-left leg injury.
After a prolonged period under the protective tent on the sidelines, Ibrahim was seen heading to the locker room wearing a protective boot.
This will be a serious blow for the Gophers season, with their offensive plan typically centered around Ibrahim and the running attack. Against the Buckeyes, they had held the ball for nearly 39 minutes — compared to OSU’s 21 minutes — by grinding out the running game with Ibrahim carrying the load.
He was responsible for a tremendous amount of the Gopher workload in 2020, leading the nation with 28.7 carries per game.
News: #Gophers running back Mo Ibrahim will have season-ending surgery from his lower-leg injury sustained in season-opening loss to #Buckeyes, head coach PJ Fleck said Monday.
— Andy Greder (@andygreder) September 6, 2021
Ugh. #Gophers star running back Mohamed Ibrahim will miss the rest of the season with a lower-leg injury that will require surgery, coach PJ Fleck announces.
Ibrahim was brilliant in Thursday's game against #OhioState before going down late in the third quarter.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) September 6, 2021
Fleck says the injury is pretty "clean" and that Ibrahim should make a full recovery in 4-6 months. Obviously will have a decision on whether to go to the NFL or return to Minnesota, but that will be made later.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) September 6, 2021
Scott Schultz covers Michigan State Football, along with Breaking News for B1G Football & Basketball for Saturday Tradition. He also serves as an Automotive News Editor & Writer, and Softball Writer elsewhere on the web. Follow him on Twitter @SRSchultz.