Shigematsu out for season

HONOLULU — University of Hawai‘i offensive lineman Sean Shigematsu will miss the rest of the season following a knee injury suffered in Hawai‘i’s 40-32 loss against the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.,  last Saturday.

Shigematsu, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound Kapa‘a High School graduate, sustained the injury in the fourth quarter when a Washington player fell into his left knee. The impact tore Shigematsu’s MCL and ACL.

“He just came up from underneath me, hit my knee and I heard a pop,” Shigematsu said. “When I heard that, I had a good idea that it wasn’t going to be good. I couldn’t move.”

The injury will cause Shigematsu to miss the rest of this season and he possibly won’t see the field until next year’s spring practices, Shigematsu said.

After Saturday’s game, Shigematsu flew back to Honolulu to meet with doctors while the rest of his teammates continued on to Las Vegas, Nev., where they will face UNLV on Saturday.

Shigematsu said the doctors want his MCL to heal on its own, then when that ligament is back to full health, he’ll undergo surgery to repair his ACL.

The injury comes as a blow to the UH team and Shigematsu. The redshirt freshman was named the starting right tackle upon completion of fall practice and the Warriors were looking to use his massive frame to help defend against oncoming rushers.

Shigematsu’s family has tickets to Saturday’s UNLV game, where they originally planned to watch Sean play. Sean’s father, Delroy, played for the Running Rebels back in the 1970s and the family was looking forward to watching Sean play against his father’s Alma matter.

“They’re still going to go. I told them to have a good time and not worry about me,” Sean said, noting that he has a lot of family in Las Vegas for his parents to see. “They were looking forward to see me play. But it will be alright.”

• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.