On Wednesday, Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka revealed how severe his left ankle sprain was in the 2023 regular season.
Egbuka suffered the ankle sprain in Ohio State’s 37-17 win over Maryland in Week 6. When team doctors and trainers evaluated him after the contest, Egbuka said the program’s medical staff elected to perform a procedure known as tightrope surgery to expedite his recovery from the ailment.
An increasingly standard procedure to treat high ankle sprains, tightrope surgery involves the attachment of a device to the lower fibula and tibia bones in order to accelerate rehabilitation. In 2019, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa underwent the same procedure. In 2023, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers also had the surgery.
“I thought it was pretty neat that you could do that,” Egbuka said following Ohio State’s fourth practice at AT&T Stadium.
Egbuka missed three games as a result of the injury and procedure. He returned for Ohio State’s Week 10 matchup with Rutgers and went on to appear in the Buckeyes’ games against Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan.
Adam Groth, an orthopedic surgeon at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, performed Egbuka’s procedure. Egbuka said he is thankful to Groth and the Buckeyes’ training staff for helping him return to the field in short order.
“He got me right,” Egbuka said. “He did a phenomenal job in there. Shout-out to all the athletic trainers who let me rehab this thing.”
In 2022, Egbuka became only the ninth 1,000-yard receiver in Ohio State football history, collecting 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 appearances. In the 2023 regular season, his production declined due to his injury and absence, and he recorded 35 receptions for 452 yards and four scores in nine games.
“It’s been a no-joke injury,” Egbuka said. “But I am grateful for all the trials and tribulations it’s brought. ... It feels great now.”
Egbuka is expected to lead Ohio State’s wide receiver room in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, as Biletnikoff Award winner and Heisman finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. has appeared to be a non-participant in the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl practices at AT&T Stadium. That said, Egbuka will likely line up at wide receiver with Xavier Johnson and Carnell Tate, among others.
