Kirby Smart provides clarity on RB Trevor Etienne's injury

One of the biggest storylines surrounding Georgia football is the disaster that is their running back room. Their play on the field is fine, but the lack of health among this group is shockingly bad.

Branson Robinson and Roderick Robinson have been out for some time now, and Georgia’s leading rusher Trevor Etienne missed the Tennessee game as well.

Etienne’s injury status has been interesting to follow because it seems like nobody really knew when or how it specifically happened. Etienne first got injured during the Florida game which caused him to miss the entire second half. But Etienne was still able to practice and play the following week against Ole Miss.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, Etienne was ruled out for the Tennessee game.

Georgia fans didn’t know what to think because nobody saw this coming. However, Kirby Smart thankfully provided some clarity on this situation to help clear the air a little.

"Yeah, we honestly don't know the answer to that," Smart said via 247sports.com when asked about Etienne’s injury. "We think it occurred during the week of practice last week, but he (Etienne) didn't take any hits. He was black shirt, not taking hits. He was running a route and he felt something in there when he planted and pushed. We don't know. I assumed it was probably during the Ole Miss game, but he didn't complain of any pain. He didn't complain of any soreness. We didn't re-X-ray. He felt good. He went out to practice Monday, felt good. He went out to practice Tuesday, and then something happened on Tuesday, but it would have been non-contact because he wasn't getting touched. That's when we checked it, and that's when we found it. We still hope we can get him back soon."

Georgia needs Etienne back

So it sounds like Etienne was never fully healthy after being injured against Florida, then a freak play in practice this past week is what kept him on the sideline against Tennessee.

Regardless of how this injury occurred though, Georgia needs Etienne back as soon as possible. He is the leading rusher for the Bulldogs this season, and with all the other injuries to UGA’s running backs the Georgia offense needs as much depth as possible at the position.

Thankfully it sounds like he could be back soon, but for the sake of the rest of the season it’s probably wise to keep him out for this week’s game against UMass. Georgia does not need Etienne to win this game, so it’s probably wise to let him rest a little longer so he’s as close to 100 percent healthy as possible for the upcoming Georgia Tech game and potential postseason run.

It will be interesting to follow the injury reports this week to see what Smart decides to do, but hopefully Etienne does start trending towards a return because UGA could really use his help.