Notre Dame star Tim Abromaitis is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice Friday morning.
The 6-foot-8 fifth-year senior is expected to have surgery in the next two weeks.
Abromaitis played in two games and was averaging 14 points and seven rebounds. He had missed Notre Dame's first four games due to misunderstanding of an NCAA rule governing seasons of competition that dated to the 2008-09 campaign, when he played in the first two exhibitions of his sophomore season and then sat out the rest of the season.
Abromaitis averaged 15.4 points and six rebounds a game last season when Notre Dame went 27-7. He received an MBA in business from Notre Dame in May.
The senior scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his first game back to the Irish lineup, Notre Dame's 87-58 loss to Missouri in the semifinals of the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday night.
''Tim Abromaitis is one of the great stories in college athletics and represents everything that is good about college basketball,'' Irish head coach Mike Brey said in a statement.
''We are all disappointed for Tim because of all that he has meant to our program. He has been such a big part of our success over the past three seasons. Tim is such a special young man and an unbelievable representative of Notre Dame both on and off the basketball court.''
Abromaitis was a preseason All-Big East selection and a member of the 2011 USA Men's Basketball World University Games team.
The Irish now have only one starter remaining from last year's stellar team - forward Scott Martin. He and point guard Eric Atkins will have to pick up the slack for the Irish, who are off to a 4-2 start and play at home against Bryant on Sunday.
