Breaking: Justice Sueing out indefinitely with abdominal injury

The mood following Ohio State’s 31-point victory over Bowling Green on Monday was far more somber than one would expect after running roughshod over your opponent for 40 minutes. Despite the Buckeyes’ victory on the floor, they knew they’d likely suffered a serious loss of it when Justice Sueing told the coaching staff he was unable to play due to his lingering “lower body” injury.

After their victory, Holtmann told the media that Sueing’s injury could be considered day-to-day, but that it was likely a “significant” injury that they would continue to evaluate. Nobody needs to tell him how much of a better team he has when Sueing is healthy and on the floor.

Unfortunately, both Holtmann and the fanbase’s concerns were confirmed Thursday afternoon when Ohio State announced that Sueing would miss “An extended period of time” while he recovers from what they are now describing as an abdominal injury. Based on his tone after the BG win, this seems to be more of a “month-to-month” injury rather than “day-to-day.” Ohio State will likely need to plan for games assuming they will not have Sueing for the next several weeks in the very least.

Sueing dealt with a groin injury towards the end of last season, and also fought through a “lower body” injury at the beginning of this season. Neither of those injuries were ever described as an abdominal injury, but it seems fair to assume that this is not a new injury. More likely, this is the same injury he has been dealing with since the Big Ten Tournament last season.

As a player who can play any position 1-4 if needed, there is not one player on the team who will pick up his minutes. Kyle Young, Eugene Brown, and Malaki Branham could see an uptick in minutes by committee, but there is no way to sugar coat it — this is a brutal loss for the Buckeyes just two weeks into the season.