SYRACUSE - Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson said Sunday that junior running back Curtis Brinkley suffered a broken right tibia that will require surgery and prevent him from playing again this season, but Brinkley is expected to make a full recovery.

“It's not career ending,” Robinson said. “A broken bone is a broken bone. Many, many players have come back from that.”

Brinkley suffered the injury Saturday with 4:29 left in the first quarter after a 2-yard run up the middle.

Brinkley, who was on pace for his best game of the season with 40 yards rushing on six carries, was carried off the field and retreated on crutches to the locker room for observation.

He was coming off a season-high, 98-yard performance against Rutgers.

“He kind of got caught inside-out,” Robinson said. “A guy came down on his leg. It was just a football play. Curtis knew. He's been in hundreds of those before. It was just a freak thing.”

Brinkley's loss means Syracuse (2-6) will have to finish the season without its top two tailbacks from a year ago.

Delone Carter, who led the Orange in rushing as a freshman with 713 yards, dislocated a hip in the spring scrimmage in April and has not played since.

“It's a setback for our football team, and obviously a setback for Curtis,” Robinson said.

“We have to be able to deal with it and move on.”