Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Ian Williams suffered MCL tear
Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Ian Williams has been ruled out for four to six weeks with an MCL tear.
Williams sustained the injury in the second half of his team’s loss to the Navy Midshipmen on 23 October. Williams was taken off the field and was later seen on the sidelines wearing a boot. The club performed an MRI on the defensive leader on Monday, which
revealed an MCL tear.
The injury to Williams comes in the wake of a series of injuries to several Notre Dame players. The game against Navy also claimed linebacker Carlo Calabrese, who was forced out with a hamstring problem. Hamstring issues have ragged throughout the line-up,
as two of their top receivers in, T.J. Jones and Michael Floyd are also out with hamstring trouble. Moreover, wide-out Theo Riddick has been sidelined with an ankle problem.
The injury to Williams promises to affect what is already a struggling Notre Dame defence. Williams was a leader on the line, who did a tremendous job of controlling the run. The Fighting Irish already sit 63rd in the country, allowing an average
of 24.5 points per game.
The squad will also have to hope they can get strong play from their back-up receivers and a poor run game, while their wide-outs recover from injury. Notre Dame has made a living through the air, ranking 18th in the country in passing yards per
game. Unfortunately, their run game has not been nearly as strong, ranking 98th in the nation.
It has been rumoured that Williams could be back in time for a bowl game if Notre Dame is able to qualify.
The Irish have a bye week after they take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes on Saturday 30 October, giving their injured players more time to heal.
So far this season Williams has recorded 37 tackles to lead all defensive lineman.
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