By Noah Allison–

In the first quarter of U of L’s 27-21 victory in the Music City Bowl, Louisville’s junior outside linebacker Trevon Young dislocated and fractured his hip.

Chasing down a play on Texas A&M’s second drive of the game, Young planted awkwardly in the ground and it seemed as if the pressure of his step had nowhere to go but up. After minutes spent on the ground, Young was carted off the field and taken to the hospital, his season over.

Young underwent surgery the next night in Nashville and remained in the hospital for a few days.

The surgery was successful and worked to repair the left hip that was dislocated and fractured. The hip was relocated back into place once the fracture was fixed.

Now the concern is about his return to the field.

In 1991, Oakland Raiders running back Bo Jackson suffered a severe hip injury in a playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals. His hip was dislocated and in turn led to a series of blood flow problems that inevitably ended his football career.

Hip injuries are tricky and can at times be much worse than torn muscles or tendons, the common season ending injuries in sports.

This article is not to blow Young’s injury out of proportion as months of rehab and analysis of his recovery are still needed, but the severity of Young’s injury and the possible repercussions of it should be acknowledged.

This year Young was one of Louisville’s most productive players. He finished with 8.5 sacks, the second most on the team. Young added 32 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, one interception and had two three-sack performances in a row against Boston College and Wake Forest.

The 6-foot-4 junior from Des Moines, Iowa is working to recover in time for a senior year that is seemingly full of potential for the young and talented Cardinals that finished the season with an 8-5 record.

The path to recovery is unknown. What is known is that Young has worked hard to hone his craft as a pass rusher. Folks would have said that Young has NFL written all over him.

Though no timetable has been set for the recovery process, injuries similar to Young’s usually take three to four months before the rehab process can begin.