Marcus Freeman's ridiculous fears of Malachi Toney playing two days after tightrope surgery on his ankle were comical when he said it, and they now look even more preposterous with the news that the Miami Hurricanes superstar wide receiver isn't in South Bend.
Toney is expected to miss at least a month after having the surgery, putting the earliest timetable for his return at the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5. Knowing the way Toney works, it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to give it a go on Nov. 28 against Boston College, though the Canes are going to have to be ready to rock without him for the time being.
The early feel on the recovery timetable for Miami star receiver Malachi Toney was in the range of 4-6 weeks, sources tell @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 7, 2026
Gives him a shot to be back as early as possibly the ACC title game. At the very least, in position to be back for the College Football Playoff. https://t.co/no3pWnghW2 pic.twitter.com/qYGZ7iftrC
Malachi Toney is 'gutted' to not be in South Bend for Miami at Notre Dame
ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Toney did not make the trip with his teammates, with the doctors telling him that it was too early after his surgery to take a flight.
"I was told he was completely gutted by that," Thamel reported. "He wanted to be here. He'll be watching at home with a heavy heart."
The good news for Toney is that this is Miami's final road game of the regular season, so the standout wide receiver will have full access to the local trainers, doctors, and rehab specialists that will help him get up to speed.
Desmond Howard mentioned another intangible about Toney that doesn't show up on the stats. It's his presence on the sideline during the breaks in action, and that his voice carries a lot of weight among his teammates. He is a leader by example, but also a leader through encouragement. Howard, who lives in Miami and is often around the Hurricanes program, has seen it first hand.
"To give our audience some perspective, it's not [just] about replacing the numbers," Howard said. "Ever since he stepped on the campus in Coral Gables, he was a player that lifted and raised everyone's confidence level. And those guys are very, very rare. When you see No. 1, you're like, 'ok, we're good.'"
Malachi Toney's surgery explained: It's a very quick process
When you think about any kind of surgery, you're naturally trained to believe that it's a long, drawn-out procedure that will last a couple of hours. However, tightrope surgery is a relatively quick process, according to Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III, who is a foot and ankle surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center.
Waldrop estimates the surgery takes around a half hour.
"The tightrope has been a game-changer in my practice in terms of how to manage this injury," he said to the Sporting News. "And has really changed how we look at this injury."
According to Waldrop, a recipient of the surgery can start to bear weight on their ankle as soon as four days after the surgery.
Toney is one of the hardest workers in college football, and that's a great thing, but it's also a little concerning because his natural instinct is to overdo it and outwork everyone that's rehabbed from this injury before him. So, the Hurricanes medical team has to be very careful with how they assist him with this rehab to see to it that he returns to the field healthy and without any lingering issues.
But, all signs point to Toney getting back on the field this season and that's the best news the Hurricanes can receive as they try to manage these final guys without their top player. As for Freeman, his comments on Toney will only look worse if Miami can post a win.
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