South Carolina wideout Deebo Samuel will miss "an extended period of time" after fracturing the fibula in his lower left leg in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 23-13 loss to Kentucky, according to head coach Will Muschamp.
Samuel underwent surgery on Sunday morning and it went well, Muschamp said during his weekly teleconference.
While he stated Samuel was out for the season after Saturday's loss, Muschamp didn't want to estimate how much time Samuel would miss on Sunday.
"I don’t want to comment much on the status part of it," Muschamp said. "You never know with these surgeries."
Conversely from what Muschamp said after the game, Samuel and his mother, Precious Martin, tweeted Saturday night that his injury is a low-ankle fracture and he will return after five to six weeks this season.
"Extremely disappointed for Deebo,” Muschamp said. “He was having a fantastic year, really hurt for him right now. Unfortunately, we have to move on. Man down, man up. We are not going to have excuses in this organization.”
Samuel scored his sixth touchdown of the year on the Gamecock’s first play of Saturday's game, taking a slant 68-yards into the endzone. That was the beginning of a five-catch, 122-yard night for the junior.
Muschamp said Samuel's injury came on the fifth and final catch, "on the curl right on their sideline, I believe that was when he got rolled up," he said. “He came off the field and tried to go again.”
Whether Samuel is out for the full season or five to six weeks, like he insured his Twitter followers, quarterback Jake Bentley will have to rely on other pass catchers to help carry the load for the time being.
“He's an outstanding teammate and outstanding friend for me so it's going to be difficult," Bentley said. “It's next guy up mentality. He's gonna be hard to replace but we have a lot of other guys to go to.”
Linebacker Skai Moore, who missed the entire 2016 season with a neck injury, said he had some advice to offer to Samuel in his recovery.
"I'mma definitely talk to him and get in his ear. Keep his head right," Moore said. "He got a bright future, so this is just a bump in the road for him. He'll be fine."
As for how the loss will affect the team, Moore said he and the defense will have to step up to replace Samuel's impact on offense.
"We've just got to play better defense, hold them to less points and tackle better," Moore said. "We've just got to play better as a whole on defense."