Marcus Lattimore Injury Update: South Carolina Star Undergoes Successful Surgery

The update on University of South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore and his gruesome injury suffered against the University of Tennessee is a positive one. The junior star underwent successful surgery on Thursday, according to Darryl Slater of The Post and Courier:

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USC puts out release on Lattimore with no new info. Surgery went well. Multiple ligaments fixed. No additional surgeries planned.

— Darryl Slater (@DarrylSlater) November 8, 2012

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Slater's mention of multiple ligaments being repaired confirms the update given by Gamecocksonline.com, which stated that the hyperextension of his right knee resulted in multiple ligaments being damaged.

The full extent of the injury is not known, and there's still the definite possibility that Lattimore won't return to action until 2014.

Most encouraging about this news, though, is that no further surgery will be performed, meaning that all concerns were addressed in one operation.

The 2010 Freshman of the Year already endured a significant injury to his other knee in his sophomore campaign, and he managed to bounce back well from that. Hopefully that trend holds true in this situation.

Lattimore had already scored 11 touchdowns in 2012 at the time of his injury, and his 41 total scores and 38 TDs on the ground are already tops in school history.

Since Lattimore didn't redshirt the last time he suffered a serious setback, he won't lose his final year of eligibility if he can't play at all next season.

As phenomenal as Lattimore has been in his three years in Columbia, the quarterback situation beside him has never been quite settled. That has held the Gamecocks back from being perennial national title contenders.

But Steve Spurrier has built the South Carolina program up significantly since his arrival in 2005, and he will hopefully have stability under center for when Lattimore returns.