Notre Dame star forward Colson out with foot injury

Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion was expected to be a joyous occasion, but instead Mike Brey will be going for the school's all-time wins record without his star player.

The senior forward fractured his left foot in practice, according to a program release. Colson is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday and is expected to miss eight weeks of action.

“We are all feeling for Bonzie right now, who was performing as well as any player in the country," Brey said in the program statement. " We need to embrace this challenge. This program has lost key guys before and we figured out a way to earn an NCAA bid.”

The road to an NCAA tournament bid is now made much more difficult, as the eight-week timeline essentially ends hope of having Colson back before the end of ACC regular season.

God has a bigger plan ?? #ColsonsCan

— Bonzie Colson (@Bcolson_35) January 2, 2018

Before the season, Colson was named the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year and a preseason All-American. In the first 14 games, he averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds per game, leading the ACC in double-doubles.

He could still possibly return for the conference or NCAA tournaments.