Injury Report: More names, but good news too

THE HITTING WAS INTENSE against USC on Saturday out on the Palouse. And Monday's Medical Report released by WSU Sports Information reveals just that, with new names dotting the ledger. On the upside, a Cougar offensive lineman prepares take his first steps towards a return to action and the injury to a key WSU d-lineman, while significant, looks to be less than the worst case scenario.

Fevaea'i Ahmu is out indefintely with a stress fracture of his foot. Before returning the week prior against Stanford, he had been listed since fall camp with a partial stress fracture.

So while the defensive tackle appears to have widened or lengthened the fracture, he also doesn't appear to have "broken" the foot which would have singaled a definitive end to his season. Whether Ahmu returns this year or not might not be determined for some time, but there appears at this point at least a chance he could.

Bobby Byrd (sprained MCL) has been upgraded to limited participation to start the week. The starting left tackle will do some running and test his knee, with the results helping to determine when he's able to return.

Andy Mattingly suffered a concussion delivering a full speed hit on special teams against USC and is almost certainly out for Oregon State. Speaking of hard hitting, safety Michael Willis re-aggravated his sprained shoulder Saturday. He is listed under the No Practice category as is Chris Ivory, who strained a hammy on special teams against Southern Cal.

Aaron Johnson, who played Saturday in place of the injured Ahmu despite a bulging disc in his lower back, will see limited participation in practice to begin the week.

The Medical Report from Washington State Sports Information, release Monday afternoon:

Out Indefinitely – A’i Ahmu (9/30 stress fracture), Chris Baltzer (9/20 knee ACL), Joe Eppele (9/7 shoulder surgery), Chris Jordan (9/22 knee surgery), Andy Mattingly (9/30 concussion), Matt Mullennix (9/6 ACL surgery), Jason Stripling (shoulder surgery recovery).
No Practice – Chris Ivory (9/23 hamstring strain), Skylar Jessen (9/27 knee MCL), Kevin Lopina (sick), Marcus Richmond (knee sprain), Michael Willis (9/30 houlder sprain).
Limited – Bobby Byrd (9/16 knee MCL sprain), Markus Dawes (9/2 high ankle sprain), Josh Duin (9/23 knee MCL), Scott Friberg (8/22 hip/knee sprain), Ansley Jean-Jacques (9/9 thumb surgery), Aaron Johnson (9/27 low back disc bulge), Grady Maxwell (8/11 knee surgery), Cutter Rains (toe fracture), Jesse Taylor (9/16 knee MCL sprain).