Ohio State injury updates: Will Denzel Burke, Emeka Egbuka return vs. Wisconsin?

2023-10-29 01:46

The Ohio State Buckeyes provided updates on the statuses of key injured players ahead of their big game against the Wisconsin Badgers.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are heading into Week 9 off a huge win over the rival Penn State Nittany Lions. With that, their undefeated season is intact, and their next credible threat on the schedule would be against Michigan in the season finale. But this weekend, they face the 5-2 Wisconsin Badgers and their head coach Luke Fickell, the former Ohio State assistant coach.

Ahead of the game, the Buckeyes received some good news.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke is expected to return this weekend after missing the previous game against Penn State. Running back TreVeyon Henderson is also expected to play.

Additionally, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has been deemed questionable to play on Saturday.

Denzel Burke, TreVeyon Henderson expected to return vs. Wisconsin, Emeka Egbuka questionable

Burke had suffered an undisclosed injury back on Oct. 14 against the Purdue Boilermakers, which took him out for that game. One week later, Burke was deemed unable to go against the Nittany Lions.

Through six games this season, Burke recorded eight total tackles (seven solo, one assisted), eight passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble. When targeted by the opposing quarterback, Burke has surrendered 16 receptions for 184 yards and no touchdowns on 32 targets, per Pro Football Focus.

Henderson last played in the team's Sept. 23 game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Like Burke, there were no specific injury details provided by Ohio State, but he did miss the team's games against Maryland, Purdue, and Penn State.

In four games played, Henderson ran for 295 yards and five touchdowns on 44 carries.

Egbuka had been sidelined since the Oct. 7 game against Maryland. After the game, the wide receiver was spotted in a walking boot on his left foot. After missing the Purdue game, Egbuka attempted to play last week against Penn State, even going as far as suiting up in uniform. However, head coach Ryan Day chose not to play him for the entirety of the game.

The third-year wide receiver recorded 22 receptions for 303 yards and three touchdowns in five games.

Having all three players on the field will only help Ohio State's chances further against the Badgers. The game is officially set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, live on NBC.