Nick Chubb Injury: Updates on Georgia RB's Thumb and Return

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 17

Seth Emerson of The Macon Telegraph has the latest on Chubb's status:

Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 16

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution passed along comments from Mark Richt on Nick Chubb's injured thumb:

'It was a situation where he was going to need the surgery either way,' Richt said Tuesday. 'If we could have scheduled the surgery fast enough we might have done it last week, but we just really couldn’t do it. He’s just a tough enough kid where he’s like ‘I want to play,’ so we just protected him the best we could.'

Chubb, a 5-foot-10, 228-freshman from Cedartown, had four carries for 34 yards against the Gamecocks on Saturday. He underwent surgery on Monday to have pins inserted to secure multiple fractures in the bone. Richt did not rule out Chubb altogether for Saturday’s game against Troy but did indicate that Chubb wouldn’t be able to return to practice until Thursday at the earliest.

'I don’t think there was any setback in the ball game but if it took another shot the bones might have displaced a little bit so we wanted to screw them down tight,' Richt said. '… I don’t know how much he will practice this week but if he wakes up Saturday morning and feels good he’ll remember how to run a sweep or a stretch or a zone play so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him play.'

Original Text

Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb underwent a surgical procedure Monday to address a fractured left thumb and could miss extended time, beyond just this week's upcoming game versus Troy.

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported what Chubb's mother, Lavelle Chubb, said regarding her son's status moving forward after his operation at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens.    

"He's doing good; he's just resting right now," said Lavelle Chubb. "They said they would see how he's doing (Tuesday) before they make that decision. Possibly this week but they’re not really sure (how long he'll be out)."

Chubb had a breakout performance of sorts in Georgia's 45-21, season-opening victory over Clemson, racing 47 yards to the end zone in the fourth quarter of that contest. Chubb finished with four carries and 70 yards.

Although the Bulldogs suffered a letdown and lost to South Carolina this past Saturday, it was another strong outing for Chubb, who ran for 34 yards on just four attempts. Radi Nabulsi of UGASports.com highlighted Chubb's promising start:

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Chubb was the No. 6-ranked running back in the high school class of 2014.

The Troy game shouldn't be too much of a problem for Georgia to handle, particularly with regard to its rushing attack. Superstar Todd Gurley is already in place, and Sony Michel and Keith Marshall are fully capable of spelling Gurley when he's taking a break on the sidelines.

This setback isn't ideal for Chubb, given how much of an immediate impact he's had in his brief time in Athens. However, his future is bright, and the Bulldogs would be wise not to press him back into action.

A deep backfield affords Chubb plenty of time to fully recover and still make his presence felt later this season, amid what promises to be a difficult SEC schedule.