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Purdue freshman center Daniel Jacobsen, who had started the Boilermakers' first two games of the season, is out indefinitely with a fractured tibia, Boilers coach Matt Painter said Sunday.

The 7-foot-4, 230-pound Jacobsen, a top 60 national signee in the 2024 class, per 247 Sports, suffered the injury a minute into Purdue's second game, against Northern Kentucky on Friday. He will have surgery Wednesday and is a good bet to miss the rest of the season.

"You don't want to say it's definitely the year, but I would think so," Painter said. "You would like it to be around 2-4 months, but I think it's probably closer to 4-6 months."

If Jacobsen is not able to return this season, he will take a medical redshirt and have four years of eligibility remaining, the Boilermakers coach said. 

The high-upside freshman was coming off a summer in which he starred for Team USA at the U18 Americup in Argentina, setting a team record for the tournament with 19 blocks.

In the Boilermakers' season opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Jacobsen collected 13 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in 25 minutes with only one turnover and zero fouls.

"There's no question about it," Painter said of the injury being a disappointing moment for the Boilermakers and for Jacobsen. "Obviously you got an opportunity to play and it looked like play a lot. ... I thought he did some really good things in that first game. He blocked some shots, we got some lobs to him. He's got a bright future, more than anything. 

"So yeah, it's disappointing, but it happens. You feel for him and now you just want him to be positive and dive into his rehab and try to learn as much as he can from watching others and watching film. ... You gotta try to find a silver lining in something like this and get healthy and get stronger and just keep working."

On social media, Jacobsen's father, Rob Jacobsen, emphasized his son will do exactly that.

"Thanks to all of you who have reached out and offered positive thoughts and energy," the elder Jacobsen wrote. "Definitely a tough blow, but Daniel is very fortunate to have a great support system around him. He'll make a full recovery and come back good as new, stronger than ever. Boiler Up!"

Losing Jacobsen is a blow to a Purdue frontcourt that is already trying to replace two-time national player of the year Zach Edey. Still, the Boilermakers have options, led by 7-2 redshirt sophomore Will Berg, who was Edey's understudy the last two seasons. Berg started one of Purdue's exhibition games and was Jacobsen's replacement following the injury against NKU °®¶¹app“ he played 17 minutes in that contest and scored seven points on 3-for-4 shooting with seven rebounds as Purdue won 72-50.

Berg showed an ability to draw contact against smaller opponents in the opener against Corpus Christi, but missed some opportunities to make an impact with a 1-for-6 showing at the foul line. He made his only free throw against the Norse.

"Will's done some good things," Painter said. "I thought he's rebounded the ball well ... and just being a physical threat down there, whether that's defending or getting a deep post-up. He's waited, he's been very patient and he was going to play before, but now he's going to have more of an opportunity."

Another option for the Boilers at center is 6-10 senior Caleb Furst, a Fort Wayne native. Furst played center last season, backing up Edey, and brings length, defensive versatility, energy, and a soft touch around the rim. He has been excellent in short minutes to start the season °®¶¹app“ the 2021 Indiana Mr. Basketball had eight points on 4-for-6 shooting and two rebounds in 12 minutes against NKU.

"For me, something I try to rely on is defense," Furst said. "Obviously I'm not 7-4, so I don't have necessarily as large of a presence around the rim (as Jacobsen), but I think it comes with quickness, relying on that, keeping guys in front, hard hedging screens, being able to switch screens at times."

noticed this first but Purdue was doing a lot more switching this game. Here's a good example of why I love Purdue switching more with Caleb Furst playing the five!

— Sam Bourne (@sambourne04)

The Boilers could also give some minutes at center to another freshman, 6-11 Raleigh Burgess, whom Painter has repeatedly predicted will be a very good player for Purdue. Burgess had four points, five rebounds and a block in 12 minutes against Northern Kentucky.

There is also a possibility the Boilers move power forward Trey Kaufman-Renn back to center in certain situations. Kaufman-Renn was Edey's backup in 2022-23 before moving to power forward last season. He is a talented back-to-the-basket scorer and would permit the Boilermakers to play some five-out lineups, but he is a little undersized when it comes to matching up defensively against some of the bruising bigs Purdue will face this season.

The 13th-ranked Boilermakers (2-0) play next tonight against Yale at Mackey Arena.