Cincinnati quarterback Dustin Grutza underwent successful surgery on his right leg Wednesday. September 11th, 2008
Cincinnati quarterback Dustin Grutza underwent successful surgery on his right leg Wednesday.
Grutza suffered a fractured right fibula and high ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of Saturdays 52-26 loss at Oklahoma.
The senior is out indefinitely, and no timetable has been set for his return.
On Monday, Bearcats coach Brian Kelly said Grutza would not require surgery, but the injury turned out to be worse than initially thought after an examination that night revealed further damage in the ankle.
In two games this season, Grutza has completed 40-of-57 passes for 514 yards and four touchdowns. The injury likely leaves junior Tony Pike as the Bearcats starting quarterback.
Pike completed 3-of-11 passes for 21 yards with an interception in relief of Grutza last week. Pike never has started a game at Cincinnati.
Kelly said that he hopes Pike will be ready to start when the Bearcats come off their bye week to host Miami, Ohio on September 20, but admits that he has to learn the offense.
We go into the bye week with an eye toward getting him out there and seeing if he can give us that, Kelly said. The knowledge base is the bigger issue. Hes physically a lot further along. We feel like physically he can go in and compete. Its the knowledge base of the offense.
Pike played in five games as a backup last season, completing 11-of-20 passes for 91 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.