Iosefa has fractured foot, can’t play

Hawaii running back Joey Iosefa is expected to miss his fourth consecutive game after being diagnosed with a fracture of the third tarsal bone in his right foot.

Iosefa, who started the first two games, suffered the injury against Lamar when a defender fell on him after he was tackled.

"I thought it wasn’t that serious," Iosefa said. "I thought I could be back sooner."

Iosefa believed he would only miss two games. But the pain intensified, and he will end up missing at least two more than that.

He is unlikely to play in Saturday’s homecoming game against New Mexico.

The Warriors have a bye the following week. He said he hopes to be ready for the road game against Colorado State on Oct. 27.

Iosefa is considered to be the Warriors’ best all-around running back. He is skilled as a runner, receiver and blocker. He also takes the snaps in the wildcat formations.

With freshman Steven Lakalaka redshirting, the Warriors are down to three running backs — Will Gregory, John Lister and Sterling Jackson.

Three freshman LBs could start Saturday

Depending on the availability of Art Laurel, the Warriors might start three freshman linebackers against New Mexico.

"I can’t remember when I started two freshmen," UH coach Norm Chow said.

Laurel has started all five games — four at strongside linebacker and last weekend on the weak side.

Against San Diego State, he suffered a sprained ACL in his right knee.

"It’s not as bad," Laurel said. "I don’t need any surgery."

He said he receives physical therapy twice a day, including a session using an electrical stimulation machine.

"I’m going to try to come back this week," Laurel said. "We’ll see how it goes."

Kendrick Van Ackeren, a second-year freshman, was on the first-team defense during Tuesday’s practice.

Middle linebacker Benneton "Benny" Fonua and strongside linebacker Jerrol Garcia-Williams — both true freshmen — made their first college starts last weekend.

Matagiese good to go

Defensive tackle Siasau Matagiese will be cleared to play against New Mexico.

Matagiese missed last Saturday’s game because of a neck stinger and concussion. He passed tests for both ailments on Monday.

"I expect to play on Saturday," Matagiese said.

Two weeks ago against Brigham Young, he fell to the ground during the first quarter.

"I strained my vertebrae and the side of my arm started going numb," he said. "The initial hit, my legs went numb, and that’s how I collapsed. It didn’t look bad until I saw the film. Then it did look bad."

Pu‘u-Robinson hurt

The defensive line suffered another setback when Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson was diagnosed with a fractured middle finger on his left hand. He suffered the injury in the first quarter against San Diego State last weekend, but continued to play, logging more than 30 snaps.

The initial prognosis is he will miss more than four weeks. But trainers are trying to see if there is a way to pad the hand, enabling him to compete as early as this week.

Pu‘u-Robinson, a natural defensive end, started at defensive tackle against SDSU.