Is Riley Leonard injured? A look at Notre Dame star’s shoulder update ahead of Week 3

Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are coming off a stunning loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday. The loss could hinder the Fighting Irish's hopes of making the college football playoff.

However, to make matters worse, Notre Dame's starting quarterback Leonard is dealing with a shoulder injury.

Is Notre Dame's Riley Leonard injured?

Riley Leonard is dealing with a shoulder injury ahead of the Fighting Irish's Week 3 matchup against Purdue.

According to On3, Leonard injured his posterior labrum on his non-throwing shoulder in Saturday’s loss to NIU. Leonard underwent an MRI on his left shoulder over the weekend, but the expectation is that Leonard will start on Saturday.

Leonard has struggled in his first two starts at Notre Dame, as the Duke transfer has yet to throw a passing touchdown. Through two starts, Leonard is 38-for-62 for 321 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

Despite the struggles and Leonard dealing with the shoulder injury, coach Marcus Freeman still has confidence in his quarterback.

“No, there was no consideration of that,” Marcus Freeman said. “We have a lot of belief in Riley and him running our offense.”

However, Freeman thinks Leonard needs to be smarter with the football and make better passes.

"There are times that he has to throw the ball better," Freeman said, via ESPN. "He knows that, and his fundamentals have to be better. His decision-making has to be better, but we also have to be better around him. That's coaches, and what we're asking him to do and what we're asking him to read.

"We've got to catch the ball when he throws it. We've got to be better on contested catches. There're fingers at everybody. We're pointing our finger at everybody."

Riley Leonard and Notre Dame will look to return to the win column on Saturday on the road against Purdue. The Fighting Irish are 10-point favorites to get the win, despite the shocking loss to NIU in Week 2.

The rest of Notre Dame's schedule is as follows:

• Week 3: @ Purdue, Sept. 14
• Week 4: vs Miami (OH), Sept. 21
• Week 5: vs Louisville, Sept. 28
• Week 6: Bye
• Week 7: vs Stanford, Oct. 12
• Week 8: vs Georgia Tech, Oct. 19
• Week 9: vs Navy, Oct. 26
• Week 10: Bye
• Week 11: vs Florida State, Nov. 9
• Week 12: vs Virginia, Nov. 16
• Week 13: vs Army, Nov. 23
• Week 14: vs USC, Nov. 30