It’s not college football season until somebody gets injured in practice, and we finally have reached that point. Notre Dame has begun its training camp on Wednesday, and already, the effects of that are being felt.
Defensive lineman [autotag]Gabriel Rubio[/autotag] is entering his third full season with the Irish, his fourth overall in South Bend, but he often has been forgotten among his more talented teammates. His quest to stand out more took a significant hit Wednesday because of this development released by the Irish press release team:
Junior DL Gabriel Rubio fractured his foot (second metatarsal) during practice on July 31.
He had successful surgery with Dr. Thomas Bemenderfer to repair the fracture and is expected to return to play this season.
— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) August 1, 2024
At least the injury hasn’t cost Rubio this entire season, as an injury like this easily could. Still, that can’t make this any less frustrating for him or the team.
Since appearing during head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s debut as Irish coach in the Fiesta Bowl, Rubio has been a modest defensive contributor. In 22 games, he has recorded 29 tackles, had four tackles for loss (all coming in 2022), forced one fumble and defended one pass. His stuff is there, and it’s unfortunate that we won’t see it again for a while.
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