BOULDER — Colorado inside linebacker Addison Gillam will have surgery for a second time this fall on his injured knee and is out for the season.
Gillam, a junior from Palo Cedro, Calif., will have cartilage surgery Friday and most likely will receive a medical redshirt. He has not played since the second game of the season.
“Very sad,” said head coach Mike MacIntyre.
Gillam had surgery shortly after the injury, and until this week there was hope he would return this season.
“It didn’t come back exactly like we’d like it, so there’s some other things they need to do to make sure it heals back correctly,” MacIntyre said. “He was trying to come back and it just kept swelling up every time he would run. They’re going to go back in and clean it up.
“He’s a really good football player, a top Pac-12-type player when he’s healthy. Not having him out there definitely hurts your defense.”
There was good news from the medical staff, though. CU’s other first-string inside linebacker, Kenneth Olugbode, will be back this week and will start at Oregon State.
“He practiced (Tuesday) and did good,” MacIntyre said. “He recovered quicker than we thought. We had one that didn’t go as good, another one that did.”
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The Buffs will be without receiver Shay Fields, who leads the team in reception yardage, averaging 15.8 yards per reception. Fields suffered a high ankle sprain scoring a late touchdown Saturday night against Arizona.
“It’s tough losing Shay,” MacIntyre said. “Shay’s a very good player and does a lot of things for us. I think we have some other guys who can make some plays that might be playing different positions this week, moving around at different spots.”
John Meyer: jmeyer@denverpost.com or @johnmeyer
