Justice Haynes injury update: Michigan RB reportedly set to undergo foot surgery

Michigan Wolverines football junior running back Justice Haynes is set to undergo surgery to repair a foot injury, according to CBS Sports. The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder is having an outstanding campaign but went down with an injury in the 31-20 win over Michigan State Oct. 25.

Haynes was out for Michigan’s Nov. 1 game against Purdue, a 21-16 victory, and was on a scooter with a boot on his right leg on the sideline.

“Recovery timetable is TBD but the current hope is to get him back at some point this season,” the outlet reported. “Leads P4 running backs with an average of 122 yards per game.”

Michigan has a bye this weekend, before its final three regular-season games — at Northwestern Nov. 15, at Maryland Nov. 22 and versus Ohio State Nov. 29.

With just one Big Ten loss, Michigan is still alive in the Big Ten championship hunt, and the title game will be played in Indianapolis Dec. 6. The College Football Playoff begins with first-round games Dec. 19 and Dec. 20. The quarterfinals are Dec. 31-Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 8-9 and championship game Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore was asked about Haynes’ status Saturday night, following the win over Purdue, but he didn’t provide much of an update.

“We’ll see. We’ll see exactly how long that’ll be,” Moore said of a timeline for his return.

Haynes has rushed 121 times for 857 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. He has 10 rushing touchdowns. The Georgia native has also hauled in 13 receptions for 50 yards.

Haynes previously missed one game earlier in the season, a 24-7 win over Washington Oct. 18, but that was a different, upper-body injury that he suffered in the Oct. 11 loss to USC.

Haynes ran for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win over Michigan State, but sophomore Jordan Marshall has also been uber-productive in taking on a bigger role lately.

“Justice ran super hard. So did Jordan, man,” Moore said on his radio show last Monday evening. “Both of those guys are super talented, played at a high level. It was great to have him back. But really credit Jordan, too. He’s a violent runner. It’s hard to bring him down. I know after the game, he’s probably sore, but they’re probably even more sore. Excited for him. Excited for those guys. That whole room is doing a really good job.”

Marshall has now rushed for 100-plus yards in each of his last three games, after undergoing a slow start to the season and serving as Haynes’ backup. Against Purdue, Marshall set career highs with 185 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 25 carries. His 185 rushing yards are the most by a Wolverines since former Michigan running back Donovan Edwards posted the same total against Purdue in the 2022 Big Ten championship game.