Neal Brown shares injury updates on Garrett Greene, CJ Donaldson

West Virginia managed to gut out a tough 17-6 win in this year’s edition of the “Backyard Brawl” against Pittsburgh, but the win came at a cost. Quarterback Garrett Greene and running back CJ Donaldson were both injured in the contest.

Greene left the game during the second series and did not return to action. He was seen sporting a boot on his foot on the sideline.

“Obviously y’all saw him in a boot. He tried to go back,” coach Neal Brown said. “He couldn’t really put a lot of weight on it. He would have liked to gone back. I don’t think he could have performed, so we just made the decision that it wasn’t. I’ll have an update when we meet on Monday, but I don’t right now.”

Greene had turned in two quality starts for the Mountaineers to open the season, though he wasn’t able to lead the team to a win against No. 7 Penn State.

In two games he had gone 26-of-45 passing for 402 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He’d also run 20 times for 105 yards and a score.

But prior to his injury on Saturday, Garrett Greene was just 0-for-2 passing and had a carry for one yard.

As for Donaldson, the talented running back, Brown thought he would be fine after leaving the game in the fourth quarter on Saturday night.

“I think he’s going to be fine. I think it kind of scared him,” Brown said of Donaldson’s knock. “He’s got the, he’s recovering from the TCU injury. I think it scared him more than anything.”

Donaldson suffered a broken ankle against TCU last season and missed the final four games of the season as a result. While he’s recovered, it may take a little longer to fully shake off the mental scars from the injury.

A sophomore, Donaldson had run for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers before exiting the game due to injury.

On the season he has logged 49 carries for 239 yards and two scores. Donaldson tallied 526 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman in 2022.