The Notre Dame football program is currently making its final preparations for the upcoming game against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday evening. Recently, it was revealed that Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney would be undergoing surgery for an ankle sprain, forcing him to miss this matchup.

Now, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has revealed when he learned about that development.

“Marcus Freeman said he heard about Malachi Toney's injury after practice on Wednesday. That basically gives the Irish two days of prep for Miami without their No. 1 weapon,” reported Pete Sampson of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.

While the absence of Toney is bad news for Miami and for college football fans in general hoping to see both teams at full strength, it's certainly a break for the Fighting Irish's defense, which was expecting to have to take on one of the most explosive offensive weapons in the country on Saturday.

Freeman had previously compared Toney to legendary NFL wide receiver Percy Harvin, whom he played against in his own career, and was clearly not taking the challenge of defending him lightly.

Still, even without Toney in the lineup, the Hurricanes have some considerable talent on their roster, headlined by quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Dorian Mensah, in addition to some other skill positional standouts.

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It will be critical for the Fighting Irish not to take their foot off the pedal at all in the wake of the news surrounding Toney's absence.

In any case, kickoff between Notre Dame and Miami is set for Saturday evening at 7:30 pm ET from South Bend. The game is set to be carried by NBC.