Former Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams will miss a significant portion of his rookie season due to an injury.

Williams will need ankle surgery and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, head coach Sean McVay announced on Friday.

Williams suffered the injury in the Rams’ season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Williams suffered the injury on a special teams play vs. Buffalo. He did not record a carry or reception in the game.

The news comes at a tough time for Williams, who was beginning to earn high praise from McVay and the Rams’ coaching staff. It’s possible he could still carve out a role in LA’s backfield once he’s healthy in a couple months.

Williams was a 5th round pick by the Rams in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was chosen there after 2 highly-productive seasons at Notre Dame. He left South Bend with 2,153 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns in his career.