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.