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Minnesota star running back Mohamed Ibrahim will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a leg injury in Thursday’s loss to Ohio State.
Coach PJ Fleck has said Ibrahim, the Big Ten running back of the year and a 2020 AP All-America third-team selection, will undergo surgery on Tuesday. He had 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 30 carries before being injured at the end of the third quarter in Minnesota’s 45-31 loss. Ibrahim limped off the field and entered the Minnesota injury tent, before heading to the locker room with a boot to his left foot.
“He’s disappointed,” Fleck said. “He’s worked incredibly hard. But that’s football. You can’t control injuries when you come on the pitch and play in games. He has a good sense going for him right now and a great presence. He’s obviously not happy with what happened, but he’s been able to cope with it. “
Fleck did not elaborate on the injury but said it was “clean enough” and Ibrahim would be able to make a full recovery in four to six months. Ibrahim is a fifth-year senior who suffered multiple injuries earlier in his career, but still ranks eighth in team history with 3,003 rushing yards and fourth in rushing touchdowns with 33. He has 547 career races.
In 2020, he was the only Big Ten player to run 1,000 yards and set the Minnesota single-season record for rushing average (153.7 yards per game). He was second nationally in scrimmage yards per game (161.7), behind Jaret Patterson of Buffalo (178.7).
“Whether he comes back or goes to the NFL is a choice he will make, not now, but later,” said Fleck. “He doesn’t need to be okay now. He needs to worry about being healthy and making a full recovery.” Fleck called Ibrahim “the best fullback in the country” and “the heartbeat of this team”, and said Ibrahim spent training on Sunday coaching the other running backs. Sophomore Trey Potts replaced Ibrahim against Ohio State and recorded 10 runs for the game. Sophomore Cam Wiley and others will likely be in the carry rotation as well.
“We have a lot of numbers,” Fleck said. “You haven’t seen a lot of it because Mohamed has been so good.”
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