Texas got a big win over Missouri on Saturday, but it came with another hit to an already battered roster. The Longhorns beat the Tigers 34-20 while dealing with multiple injured starters, and starting defensive lineman Hero Kanu was one of the players who left the game in obvious pain after an apparent upper-body injury.
Kanu told reporters after the game that he’s fine, but the picture around his injury has become clearer. Eric Henry of Horns247 reported that Kanu suffered a torn bicep against Missouri, though he is expected to keep playing as long as he can handle the pain.
That means Texas may have to keep rolling without Kanu at full strength down the stretch. The Longhorns have three regular-season games left, and potentially more if they make the College Football Playoff. If Kanu is on the field, he won’t be at 100%, which could push other defensive linemen such as Alex January and Justus Terry into even bigger roles.
A torn bicep is no small thing. If surgery becomes necessary now, Kanu’s season would be over because of the recovery timeline. For the moment, though, it does not appear that immediate surgery is required, and the expectation is that he could wait until the offseason if that’s the route he eventually takes.
The exact severity of the tear still isn’t fully clear. A partial tear and a complete tear can lead to very different outcomes, but Henry’s reporting suggests Kanu may have landed in the better-case scenario for this kind of injury.
Even so, surgery could still be on the table later. Texas Orthopaedic Associates says surgery is recommended if “significant weakness affects work or sports.” Partial tears, on the other hand, can be treated without surgery through rest, physical therapy or injections.
How Kanu responds once he gets back on the field will tell the rest of the story. But given the nature of the injury, it wouldn’t be a shock if he eventually chooses surgery after the season so he can get back to full strength.
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