ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Wolverines won’t be with all of their stars against Ohio State in just under two weeks, but Michigan football is working to get healthier as it marches toward The Game.
The biggest injury thus far is to running back Justice Haynes, who missed a few games after being injured vs. USC, only to return against rival MSU and get injured again. He’s since had foot surgery, according to reports, and there was some optimism that he could return for the Ohio State game. However, on the Fox broadcast of the maize and blue’s game against Northwestern, announcer Gus Johnson said that Haynes was out for the season. On Monday, head coach Sherrone Moore said that’s not what he’d say, but essentially did scratch him for The Game vs. the Buckeyes.
“I don’t think he’ll be — we’ll see as the doctors go, but as far as done for the year, I wouldn’t put him in that category,” Moore said. He later added, when asked if he would likely miss the rest of the regular season: “Yeah, probably, yes.”
The hope then would be that Haynes could or would return for the postseason.
There was something of a scare against the Wildcats this week when running back Jordan Marshall left the game with a shoulder injury. Moore said after the game that he’s OK, and he repeated the same mantra on Monday morning. If he is at all limited, he says that former walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal would be his replacement.
“Jordan Marshall, same kind of thing I told you after the game, X-rays were negative,” Moore said. “Feel good about where he’s at, but we’ll see. We’ll take it day by day and see where he’s at.
“But if Bryson has to be the guy, feel very comfortable with him. He’s explosive. He’s probably faster than Jordan, probably not as strong, but maybe — he’s a strong kid for how built he is. He’s about 5-11, 6-foot, 210, 215.”
Michigan has one more road game, at Maryland, before it returns home for The Game. The game against the Terps will be at 4 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football updates Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall injuries
