Latest injury update for Army football running back Godspower Nwawuihe

It's going to be wait-and-see time for the recovery of injured Army running back Godspower Nwawuihe .

The sophomore was injured early in the third quarter of Friday's 21-17 victory at Temple . On Army's second offensive series of the half, Nwawuihe was mauled at the line of scrimmage by Temple's Russell Sykes IV for a 1-yard gain on first down and then got the next handoff to the left side, falling forward awkwardly for a 3-yard gain. He left the game and was taken to the locker room.

The next time he appeared, he was on the Army sidelines without his pads. In his absence, Jake Rendina and Carson Smith picked up more of the running duties as Army rallied for the victory.

Nwawuihe did not work out on Sunday, said Army head coach Jeff Monken on his Monday night radio show, "This Week in Army Football ."

"We're going to wait and see,'' Monken said. "He was hurt pretty bad. He was in a sling ... on Friday night. Our trainers have started the rehabilitation process — we've got a great medical staff here and they're taking good care of him.

"It's probably going to be a few days, maybe longer, to figure out just exactly what's going on with it, and when you have an injury like that, oftentimes it takes a little bit more time. I'm confident that if he can come back and play he will. He's a tough kid and he's got great care, so time will tell.''

The absence of Nwawuihe puts a crimp in Army's rushing attack, although the Black Knights have done well moving the ball with Rendina (13 carries, 56 yards), Smith (16 carries, 80 yards) and running threat Cale Hellums (47 carries, 246 yards) at quarterback. Nwawuihe has 37 carries for 164 yards.

Monken said Smith's inspired performance in the comeback effort will certainly help. Smith had six carries for 35 yards, gaining three first downs on the decisive winning drive.

"It was just a matter of both of those guys (Smith and Rendina) getting a chance to touch the ball and get the carries,'' Monken said. "I think once we started handing it to Carson, you could see there's just a difference. He was gaining those tough yards, and every time he had it, it was 6, 7, 12 yards. At that point, give it to the guy with the hot hand.''

Army travels to Ruston, Louisiana, to take on Louisiana Tech in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 3. The same clubs met in the 2024 Independence Bowl , with Army prevailing 27-6.