Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love is expected to miss the rest of the preseason with a high ankle sprain, ESPN reported on Sunday.
The Cardinals are hopeful that Love will be available for their regular-season opener at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 13, per the report.
After Arizona coach Mike LaFleur said following the Cardinals’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday that he didn’t expect Love to be sidelined for an extended time, he changed his tune Saturday, telling reporters that Love would be sidelined from practice this week.
The injury occurred in the second quarter in Arizona’s second preseason game. Love, the third overall pick in April’s draft, carried the ball 11 times for 58 yards against the Raiders before sustaining the injury. He didn’t play in the Hall of Fame game preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Love, 21, finished third in Heisman Trophy voting last season, when he ran for 1,372 yards and 18 touchdowns. He finished his Notre Dame career with 2,882 rushing yards, 594 receiving yards and 42 touchdowns (36 rushing, six receiving) over 41 games for the Fighting Irish.
With Love, James Connor (foot) and Trey Benson (knee) all dealing with injuries, Arizona signed running back Tre Stewart on Sunday.