Yesterday, after the game in which star setter Charlie Fuerbringer was injured on a play at the net, head coach Kelly Sheffield gave a quote that was very "wait and see." Today, it seems less optimistic. While the timeline is still not set in stone and the extent of the injury won't be revealed until after more tests are run, the optimism feels dwindled. Sheffield said he hopes it's only weeks, not months.
"Weeks, not months," is a bad sign and should cause some worry for Wisconsin fans about the extent of Fuerbringer's shoulder injury. The difference may not seem that important, as the regular season only goes until the end of November. There are truly only eight weeks left in the season as it is; months would mean she probably won't play again this season. Weeks means potentially a November return?
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield on the injury that standout setter Charlie Fuerbringer sustained yesterday: "We’ll get a little bit more information this evening and see how long she’s out for. Hopefully we’re talking weeks and not months, but we’ll see."
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) October 6, 2025
Charlie Fuerbringer is having more tests run as they figure out the extent of her injury
Getting her back in November over losing her for the entire season would be important, as Wisconsin has high aspirations for post-season success. However, missing the entire regular season would also be a blow to what Kelly Sheffield and company are hoping to accomplish.
The immediate bad news is that she won't be ready for the highly anticipated matchup against Penn State on Friday, October 10. Grace Egan should be back for that game, but the Badgers will have to continue to rely on true freshman Addy Horner, who backs up Fuerbringer.
Horner played admirably following the injury to Fuerbringer against Michigan. She had 35 assists and two service aces to help the team get a three-set sweep over the Wolverines. The Badgers have a hot start to Big Ten play but a lot of that success has been on the back of Fuerbringer, the true freshman will have big shoes to fill going forward, for weeks or maybe months.