Dabo Swinney reveals Clemson injury status of Bryan Bresee, Will Shipley
Clemson defensive lineman Bryan Bresee has torn his ACL, head coach Dabo Swinney told reporters Sunday evening.
Bresee was injured with 9:09 left in the third quarter Saturday against North Carolina State and didn’t return to the game. He went into the medical tent at one point and came out with what appeared to be an ice pack on his leg lower leg. The sophomore and former five-star recruit came into the game with 13 tackles, three for loss and 1 ½ sacks and had a tackle in the loss on Saturday.
He’ll have surgery on the ACL and also a shoulder injury that he was originally going to hold off on until the end of the season.
“It’ll just be part of his journey and just appreciate him, his effort,” Swinney said. “What an unbelievable player he is. Just incredible leader. We don’t have any doubt that when we get him back out there and see him again, he’ll be better than ever.”
The Tigers had three total players make early exits on Saturday in James Skalski (second quarter), Bresee (third quarter) and Will Shipley (overtime). The defense had already taken a hit when fellow starter Tyler Davis was ruled out for 7-8 weeks after having surgery on a torn bicep. With both starting defensive tackles out, Ruke Orhorhoro and Tre Williams will step up in those spots.
Shipley didn’t tear his ACL, but did suffer a leg injury somewhere in his shin/tibial area, Swinney said. An exact timetable for his return is unknown. The freshman was Clemson’s leading rusher and scored a touchdown with 38 yards in his first collegiate start on Saturday.
“He’ll probably be on crutches here for a couple weeks and then kind of work back in after that as far as his rehab and all that,” Swinney explained. “It could be three weeks, could be four weeks. I’m not really sure, but all I know is he’s going to be back at some point, which is a huge positive because we kind of were expecting the worst there.”
Skalski is going to be fine, Swinney said.
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 6:11 PM.
