After wrapping up the 2025 season with a first-team All-SEC selection, Ahmad Hardy got hit with a setback this offseason. The 20-year-old got injured at a concert in Mississippi early Sunday morning, May 10. Two days later, an update dropped about his health.

"Missouri star RB Ahmad Hardy was s*** in the leg at a concert over the weekend," reported The Athletic's Bruce Feldman. "He had surgery. Sources have told @TheAthletic that they don't expect this to be career threatening and that Hardy is already on the road to recovery."

Missouri junior led the entire SEC with 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2025. Then on Sunday, May 10, his world was turned upside down.

Hardy was injured at a concert at the Kamakazy Biker Club in Laurel, Mississippi, when he was reportedly in the car while leaving the concert.

He was taken to Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, where he underwent surgery that same day. Missouri released an official statement on Monday confirming the news.

"Mizzou Football student-athlete Ahmad Hardy was the victim of a s******* at a concert in Mississippi early Sunday morning and sustained a gunshot wound. Ahmad underwent surgery Sunday in Mississippi and is in stable condition," the program announced.

A source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that he was alert and walking around Monday. So, there is hope he will eventually play football again. However, the timeline of his recovery is still not confirmed.

Hardy Has His Eyes Set on Playing in 2026

According to Thamel, Hardy plans to begin rehabbing immediately with the goal of playing this season for the Tigers. His condition and activity level just 48 hours after surgery reflected a strong recovery effort.

Missouri opens its 2026 season on September 3 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. That gives Hardy roughly three and a half months to get back.

After emerging as one of the best ballcarriers in college football last season, Hardy has been widely mocked as a first-round selection in the 2027 NFL Draft. However, the Tigers' head coach Eli Drinkwitz is still not sure about Hardy's recovery rate.

“There is an opportunity that he’ll be back this year,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s an opportunity he couldn’t be back this year. We won’t know those answers for a few weeks.”

Hardy’s struggles in marquee matchups largely prevented him from breaking into the core Heisman Trophy discussion. But he was still viewed as one of the nation’s elite offensive weapons heading into 2026.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar