Doctor Robert: Pitt-Marshall Injury Report

Since the ACC requires its members to provide injury reports for in-conference matchups, Pitt released an official report last week. But with the Panthers playing a non-conference team this weekend, that’s not mandatory so we’re left a little more in the dark.

The good news is that it didn’t seem like there were any major injuries coming out of the North Carolina game. However, the team does still have some injury news to watch for this week.

The latest injury news was surrounding starting linebacker Mike Caprara, who didn’t play against the Tar Heels with a ‘lower body injury.’ If you’re keeping score at home, Caprara is already the second key linebacker to miss time with Elijah Zeise out for the season. Head coach Pat Narduzzi said during his press conference this week that he expects Caprara to play.

Keep in mind, however, that Caprara was listed as probable for the North Carolina game and wound up not playing, so it’s hard to tell at this point. Plus, Craig Meyer of the Post-Gazette noted that Caprara and fellow linebacker Bam Bradley were wearing yellow jerseys at practice on Wednesday, meaning they weren’t full participants. Obviously something to watch going forward.

Another key thing here is that freshman cornerback Damar Hamlin could be on the field sooner rather than later. He’s been a full participant in practice per several media members on Twitter and seems like he could be ready to go soon. Pitt’s cornerbacks have struggled so far but the question is when Hamlin could be ready to play after having missed so much time.

Finally, on top of the season ending injuries, wide receiver Dontez Ford will obviously miss this one since he’s expected to be out for quite a while longer with his shoulder injury. Head coach Pat Narduzzi hasn’t commented much on Ford, but Ford’s high school coach did confirm that he underwent surgery earlier this month. His loss continues to hurt as the team hopes to improve upon its passing game.

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