Senior running back Omar Conteh, who injured his knee in practice last Wednesday, had surgery on Friday to repair a ligament. Coach Fitzgerald finally confirmed on Monday that Conteh will miss the rest of the season.
To deal with the loss of his second running back this year (the ‘Cats lost starter Tyrell Sutton for at least the regular season on Oct. 25 at Indiana) Fitzgerald is moving freshman receiver Jeravin Matthews to running back. Matthews will back up Stephen Simmons, who also started in the game Saturday against Ohio State. In the OSU game, Simmons ran for just 34 yards on 14 carries and his longest gain was for six yards.
Conteh was not the only Wildcat to be under the scalpel on Friday. Linebacker Malcolm Arrington also had surgery to repair his knee and could return for NU’s bowl game.
This Saturday, Northwestern travels to Michigan Stadium to take on the 3-7 Michigan Wolverines.
Correction: November 11 8:14 a.m. The article originally stated that Omar Conteh injured his wrist. That was Tyrell Sutton. Thanks to Wildcat Fan for the update.