Bonzie Colson's Foot Injury Diagnosed as Fracture; Notre Dame Star out 8 Weeks

Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Bonzie Colson will have surgery after fracturing his left foot, the school announced Tuesday. 

Colson is expected to miss eight weeks.

"We are all feeling for Bonzie right now, who was performing as well as any player in the country," Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "We need to embrace this challenge. This program has lost key guys before and we figured out a way to earn an NCAA bid."

The senior is leading Notre Dame with 21.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Colson arrived at Notre Dame with relatively little fanfare. He was a 3-star recruit and the No. 139 player in the 2014 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Over his first three years with the Fighting Irish, Colson improved enough for the Associated Press to name him a third-team All-American in 2016-17. The 6'6" forward averaged 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a junior.

Notre Dame is far from a one-man show, but much of the Fighting Irish's success in 2017-18 hinges not only on Colson staying healthy but also making the jump to be a serious Wooden Award contender, which he had been so far this season.

Losing Colson for an extended period of time is a significant blow for Notre Dame and could jeopardize its chances of returning to the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in eight seasons.