The Wisconsin Badgers suffered a tough loss last weekend when star setter Charlie Fuerbringer suffered an injury against the Michigan Wolverines and did not return.
Wisconsin ultimately won the match, with freshman Addy Horner playing well in her place, but Fuerbringer’s injury certainly was a big issue to monitor. Initially, head coach Kelly Sheffield had guarded optimism, sharing that the team hoped it was ‘weeks, not months’ for a return.
“We’ll get a little bit more information this evening and
see how long she’s out for. Hopefully, we’re talking weeks and not months, but we’ll see.”
But, when speaking with reporters this week, the head coach offered a much worse timeline that puts into question Fuerbringer’s availability this season.
“Do we have a timeline or anything? We’re nowhere near that,” Sheffield said this week. “It would be nice to get her back this season, but I would say that’s TBD at this point. There’s no practicing that’s happening right now.”
That’s a big turn of events, as the Badgers are firmly in the middle of their Big Ten schedule, suffering a recent sweep by the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The Badgers did have a nice 3-0 sweep on Sunday over the Maryland Terrapins, thanks to 12 kills from Mimi Colyer and 36 assists from Horner, which improved them to 12-2 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.
But, Fuerbringer’s injury will likely loom over the team as it’s hard to see the ultimate ceiling without the star setter in the lineup.
