Turns out the only thing that can slow Malachi Toney down is ankle surgery.
On Wednesday night, CBS Sports analyst Matt Zenitz reported that Toney's injury is worse than originally expected. According to Zenitz, the Hurricanes believe the superstar wide receiver will need to undergo surgery. While the program doesn't expect the surgery to end Toney's season, he obviously won't be ready to play on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, initial reports about Toney's injury suggested it was minor enough that he was pushing to play against Notre Dame. However, Miami (which has been shockingly public about the injury) now looks to shut him down for at least a couple of weeks.
Malachi Toney expected to miss Notre Dame game with ankle injury
If the report is accurate, it's a major blow for the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes, not just against Notre Dame, but for the rest of the season. Miami has three more games after the Fighting Irish, and while the rest of their ACC schedule isn't a murderer's row of opponents, Duke and Virginia Tech aren't pushovers, especially if the team is without its best player and Heisman Trophy contender.
After undergoing further testing, Miami star wide receiver Malachi Toney is currently expected to undergo surgery due to the ankle injury he suffered today during practice, sources tell @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) November 5, 2026
The current belief is that it’s not a season-ending injury, per sources. pic.twitter.com/Q7ZA4I2hfP
With Toney almost certainly out on Saturday, Miami will have to find a way to replace a giant hole in its production. Through eight games, Toney is third in the sport in receiving yards (1,027), second nationally in receptions (73), and second in touchdown receptions (13). Toney accounts for a whopping 33% of Miami's passing attack.
Toney hasn't dropped a pass he had a chance to catch all season. His most productive game came against Pittsburgh, when he caught 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns. In Miami's latest nail-biting win over North Carolina, he hauled down 7 passes for 75 yards and 2 TDs.
Notre Dame has its own fair share of injuries heading into Saturday's showdown, but none of those, or all of them put together, have the same kind of impact that Miami being without Malachi Toney could have.
While Hurricanes' quarterback Darian Mensah has put up some incredible numbers this season, it helps that he's had the best receiver in the game out there getting open and hauling down everything in sight.
If there was a very obvious advantage for Miami in this game, it would have been the presence of Malachi Toney running around the field.
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