Season Over for Faulk? : Aztecs: Running back says possibility exists; doctor hoping for early November return.

EL PASO â€”  Injured San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk said Saturday that one of his doctors told him that if his fractured rib and cracked rib do not heal, it might be better if Faulk sits out the rest of the season.

“The type of injury I sustained, the way it happened and the trouble it caused with the (punctured) lung, they said it’s possible that the rib might poke the same hole again in the lung,� Faulk said.

“I’m going to do whatever is necessary to get healthy again. If I have to sit out the whole season or whatever . . .�

But Peter Wile, an SDSU team doctor, said before Saturday’s SDSU-Texas El Paso game that this was news to him.

“That hasn’t been discussed with Dr. (Robert) Straumfjord (the other SDSU team doctor) or I, but that advice would be taken into consideration.�

Wile said Faulk could return by early November.

“That’s a ballpark figure based on past experience,� Wile said. “The fractures look to be non-displaced. The rib momentarily popped open, caught the lung and snapped back into place.�

Faulk, who has set a couple of NCAA records and several SDSU records only six games into his college career, was released from the hospital Friday night after a six-day stay. He spent Saturday at home in San Diego watching football on television, watching the Lakers on television from Spain and going to the store on an orange juice run.

In other words, he was doing everything but what he really wanted to do. But to do what he wanted, he needed to be in El Paso, where his teammates were playing a crucial Western Athletic Conference game.

“It feels kind of strange,� Faulk said by telephone Saturday afternoon. “I’m just going to watch them on TV and root them on.�

SDSU officials still list Faulk’s status as week-to-week. Privately, SDSU coaches hope that Faulk, who leads the nation in scoring with a per-game average of 18.3 points, is able to return in time for the Aztec-Wyoming game Nov. 2 in San Diego.

A flak jacket already has been obtained to protect Faulk’s ribs whenever he is able to return.

Faulk said his ribs aren’t constantly sore, and that it doesn’t hurt to walk. He will be able to attend class this week, he said.

“They hurt sometimes late at night, or when I make a wrong move,� Faulk said. “Or if I walk too fast or if I cough real hard.�

This is all a new experience to him. He said he never before missed a game because of an injury, and that he had never before been in the hospital. Maybe that’s why he was enjoying his first day home.

“It’s pretty nice to be here,� he said. “It seemed like the longer you stay in the hospital, the weaker you get.�

Now he has time to heal and time to think.

Faulk was watching the Indiana-Michigan game on ESPN Saturday morning when the network mentioned his name. He entered the weekend as the nation’s No. 2 rusher with an average of 163.8 yards a game, and Indiana’s Vaughn Dunbar was third at 162.

“They had Dunbar at No. 3 and they showed my name at No. 2,� Faulk said. “I was just like, ‘Awwww.’

“I didn’t take it that hard, but you kind of wonder. You don’t know how many games you’re going to miss or if you’ll miss the whole year.�

Faulk talked a little more, not knowing if the 1991 football season and his ribs would reach an agreement. He will return, he said, only if it is safe.