College football was officially underway with a conference match-up between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and BIG10 favorites The Ohio State Buckeyes. Redshirt senior Mohamed Ibrahim, at the time had 163 yards rushing on 30 carries and 2 touchdowns, went down in the third quarter on this 1 yard run.
In the video you can see that his left calf pop. That usually indicates an Achilles’ tendon rupture. He left the game in a boot.
It is apparent that an injury like that brings back memories of Kevin Durant when he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon. And it was a safe assumption and injury such as that would cause him to miss the rest of the year.
Anatomy Review:
The Achilles’ Tendon is made up of two muscles of the posterior lower leg, the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius is the primary “calf” muscle while the soleus is often forgotten. The two combine and insert at the calcaneus (heel) bone. The Achilles’ tendon is one of the strongest tendons in the body.
It is one of the most common tendons injured in the body. Associated with a rupture could be a loud pop or a feeling of getting kicked hard in the heel. Ruptures occur usually from a forced plantar flexion (toes pointing downwards), such as taking off to jump or planting to run or forced dorsiflexion (toes pointing upwards), such as landing from a jump.
The purpose of the Achilles’ tendon is to transmit force generated and withstand stress caused by walking, running, jumping, to name a few.
Designated To Return:
He is out for the rest of the season. It is also likely the end of his career at Minnesota considering he is a 5th year senior. Although given COVID-19 eligibility he could return to Minnesota for another season to prove to NFL scouts he is fully recovered. Generally timelines for Achilles’ tendon ruptures range from four to six months, even for a complete rupture. He’s going to be ready for football next year whichever route he decides to take whether it is return to college football or opt for the national football league.
Coach PJ Fleck told reporters that his star running back will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair an “unspecified” lower leg injury.
There are several ways to look at what decision he does next. If he goes back to school, he can take an entire year to prove to NFL scouts he is completely healthy and ready to play and entire season. You can make the same argument that he can do that with an NFL team and their medical staff. The big “IF” with proving to an NFL staff he is healthy is he either has to get drafted or signed by an NFL team after the draft and go through spring and summer ball with them. If he does opt to return to college, he does not have much to prove because he is in the record books for Minnesota in numerous categories as a running back and why put more wear and tear on the legs in college when there is not much statistically to prove.