Illinois QB Wes Lunt suffers leg fracture, will miss four to six weeks

Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt suffered a leg fracture against Purdue on Saturday and will miss four to six weeks, the school announced Sunday.

Lunt, who was leading the Big Ten in passing yards per game, grabbed his left leg following a sack in the fourth quarter. He was helped off the field by two trainers.

Lunt already had been nursing a knee injury that made him questionable for the Purdue game in the first place, and he aggravated a calf contusion in his left leg, which caused him to limp throughout the second half.

“I’m very disappointed for Wes, his family and the Fighting Illini family, but I know we all will respond to this situation in a positive way,” Illinois coach Tim Beckman said. “He’s having an outstanding season and we’re very hopeful to have him back on the field for the final three games. We are fortunate to have two bye weeks coming up so the games Wes will have to miss are as limited as possible. We have a lot of confidence in Reilly O’Toole and Aaron Bailey as we prepare for our upcoming game against Wisconsin."

Lunt was the one bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the Illini. He had completed 127-of-191 passes (66.5%) for 1,569 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The 38-27 loss to Purdue moved the Illini to 3-3 on the season and 0-2 in Big Ten play. Illinois has won just one Big Ten game since 2011.

Reilly O'Toole, who started against Nebraska, played the rest of the Purdue game after Lunt’s exit and is expected to be the starter going forward.

For more Illinois news, visit OrangeandBlueNews.com.

- - - - - - -

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook