Rush QB Russ Michna, two others lost for season

Tuesday July 20, 2010

 The Chicago Rush has placed starting quarterback Russ Michna on the team’s Injured Reserve list with a broken rib suffered in the first half of Saturday’s overtime loss to Dallas, the Rush announced today. Michna will be out a minimum of six weeks, meaning the QB is done for the remainder of the season.

Joining Michna on IR today are starting wide receiver Kenny Higgins (foot) and offensive lineman Shawn McMackin (knee), both of whom also will be lost for the year.

“It seems like we’ve been hit with an extraordinary amount of injuries this year,” said Rush head coach Mike Hohensee. “While I know these players are devastated by the fact that they are out for the year, we cannot let their injuries be devastating to the team. We have worked hard all season to bounce back from adversity and I think the group of guys we have on our roster will respond they way they have all season.”

Michna played in 14 games for the Rush this season, completing 290 of 423 passes for 3,860 yards and 70 touchdowns, while only throwing 11 interceptions. He finishes his season ranked first in the AFL in completion percentage (68.5%) and second in quarterback rating (126.0). In addition, Michna set a Rush single-season record for passing yards, eclipsing Matt D’Orazio’s previous team record of 3,787 yards set in 2007. His 70 TD passes are the third most by a Rush quarterback in a single season, behind D’Orazio’s 82 in 2007 and Raymond Philyaw’s 74 in 2002.

Higgins was supposed to be the team’s premiere receiver this season, but a series of injuries limited him to just seven games, in which he caught 32 passes for 389 yards and eight touchdowns. Higgins suffered a foot injury in the team’s May 22 win at Dallas and was eventually placed on Injured Reserve on June 4. He was activated from IR on July 8, but re-injured his foot in practice prior to the Dallas game last week.

McMackin, who moved from offensive line to fullback to replace Robert Boss, suffered a partially dislocated kneecap in the first half of Saturday’s game against Dallas.

The Rush (10-5) concludes its 2010 regular season this week with a road trip to Eastern Washington to take on the AFL’s top team – the Spokane Shock (12-2) – in a game that will be featured as the AFL Game of the Week Friday night on the NFL Network. Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m.