South Carolina Loses Starting Offensive Lineman For The Upcoming Season

South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer announced this week that starting offensive lineman Josiah Thompson is expected miss the upcoming season due to a lower-body injury that will require surgery. Per ESPN:

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Thompson, who started 24 of 25 games at left tackle the past two seasons, will undergo surgery, Beamer told reporters in a news conference Tuesday.

"I don't anticipate Josiah being able to play this upcoming season," Beamer said. "[It] is an injury that really goes back to a couple of years ago, a lower-body issue that he's been dealing with that we knew a couple of years ago that surgery was the most likely end result for him.

"He kind of played through it last season, but in order for him to be at his best as a football player beyond college, it's one of those things that kind of needed to happen at some point."

Beamer didn't specify Thompson's injury, but said it wasn't "long-term."

"I don't anticipate him being back [from] that surgery in order to play this upcoming season," Beamer said.

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Tough break for the Gamecocks.