Carson York will undergo knee surgery Tuesday on a broken right patella, the senior offensive lineman confirmed after practice Monday.
The rehab and recovery will take “longer than the season,” York said, leaning on crutches with his knee swelling out of his brace. The news comes hours after the Napa Valley Register broke the news that senior safety John Boyett will also undergo surgery on both of his patellar tendons, ending a senior campaign that began with a preseason All-America selection.
The loss of two of Oregon’s top senior leaders comes on the heels of the Ducks’ 42-25 win over Fresno State, a romp marred only by inconsistent protection and coverage.
York played just a few series against Fresno State after seeing limited action week one against Arkansas State. He tore the patella tendon in the same knee during the Rose Bowl eight months ago, but York says the two injuries are unrelated.
“I don’t think we really know it’s connected or anything. It’s the same part of the body, but there’s nothing in the first procedure that would weaken the kneecap,” he said. York said doctors told him that in the first injury, it was like a cable disconnecting from a wall. This time around it’s the whole wall.
“The last eight months were pretty rough,” York said. “Hopefully I get to play football again someday, but if not, this is a pretty fantastic place and a pretty fantastic university to represent, and I’m proud I got to do that.”

Getting to represent the University of Oregon and everyone associated with it has truly been the greatest honor of my life #GoDucks4ever
— Carson York (@CarsonYork) September 10, 2012

***
Boyett is already in California, but many teammates sounded off on the loss of the player head coach Chip Kelly calls “the quarterback of the defense.”
“It definitely hurt me because he’s one of my best friends,” safety Avery Patterson said, who took on the majority of the duties replacing Boyett during his absence against Fresno State. “He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around.” Still, Patterson has adopted Kelly’s “next man in” philosophy.
“I’m prepared to step up. It’s my time, (and) I’ve been prepared since day one of fall camp,” Patterson said. “Ifo, Terrance, Brian, even Erick, we all gotta step up and fill his void in the secondary.”
York said he and Boyett spoke for an hour the other day. The two senior leaders named to preseason watchlists, poised to put the cherries on top of stellar careers at Oregon, suddenly found themselves in identical situations.
“John’s a good friend,” York said. “John — talk about somebody who cares about the guys on this team. I promise you there’s no one in the world who cares more about the success of this team than John, no one that’s more shaken up and hurt by the fact that he can’t finish this season. He couldn’t help it anymore.”
Oregon (2-0) plays Tennessee Tech (2-0) Saturday at Autzen Stadium.