Latest Injury Update on Xavier Thomas
CLEMSON, S.C. -- All Clemson has confirmed Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas is expected to miss four to six weeks after injuring his foot late in Saturday's scrimmage at Memorial Stadium.
Thomas is expected to have foot surgery and will miss the next four to six weeks as he recovers from surgery. Should everything go OK, Thomas could return by Clemson's game at Wake Forest on Sept. 24 or vs. NC State the following week in Death Valley.
Thomas' injury status was first reported by Larry Williams of Tiger Illustrated.com on Monday.
Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin will give an official update on Thomas' condition following Monday morning's practice.
Tigers' head coach Dabo Swinney indicated after Saturday's scrimmage that a player hobbled off the field late in the scrimmage, but he did not see who it was and did not have a report from the medical staff at that time.
While waiting to speak with Swinney outside Memorial Stadium, All Clemson and the rest of the media in attendance witnessed Thomas ride past them in a cart while holding his shoe just before the end of the scrimmage.
This is another setback for Thomas who has battled through injuries and illness throughout most of his Clemson career.
Thomas missed three games due to injury in 2019, and then five games in 2020 because of complications from COVID-19 and strep throat in the off-season. He also missed one game last year due to injury.
The 6-foot-2 defensive end checked into fall camp on Aug. 3 in the best shape of his playing career. He weighed in at 254 pounds, 11 pounds less than the 265 he played at last year.
Thomas has played in 46 games so far in his career, including 19 starts. He has 112 tackles, 27.5 are behind the line of scrimmage. He has 12.5 sacks, five passes broken up, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
