Notre Dame football injury update: Another linebacker lost for 2021 season
Notre Dame's 41-38 victory over Florida State in Sunday's season opener came at a cost. The Irish will be without another one of their key veteran linebackers for the duration of the 2021 season.
Head coach Brian Kelly announced Monday that senior Paul Moala tore his achilles tendon in Sunday's season opener at Florida State. Moala was returning to action this season after tearing his other achilles in the third game of the 2020 season.
"Devastating," Kelly said. "It was an emotional locker room last night. We didn't tip that off to you guys because it was still pretty raw. We're all very disappointed for Paul. He worked so hard to get back on the field. We love Paul, and he's going to be missed. He's a guy we were counting on. He's going to be sorely missed."
Notre Dame lost projected will linebacker starter Marist Liufau to an ankle injury that required surgery in the days leading up to the season. Moala was in the mix with junior Jack Kiser and graduate senior Isaiah Pryor to get reps at rover.
Starting left tackle Blake Fisher left the game with a knee injury in the first half and did not return. Senior will linebacker Shayne Simon suffered a shoulder injury in the second half. Kelly said both players were scheduled to receive MRIs on Monday afternoon. Kelly said Sunday he does not believe Fisher severely injured his ACL or MCL. He called it a strain.
Sophomore tight end Kevin Bauman went down with a non-weight bearing fracture in his leg. He's getting surgery to have a plate inserted. Kelly said the best-case scenario for Bauman to get back on the field is a six-week timeframe.
Junior defensive end Jordan Botelho, senior running back C'Bo Flemister and freshman running back Logan Diggs were listed as unavailable prior to kickoff. Kelly said an update on their status would be issued later this week. He did not provide clarity on why that trio was not able to participate in Sunday's season opener.
----
• Talk about it inside The Lou Somogyi Board.
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.