Gophers' Casey O'Brien faces more surgery

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MINNEAPOLIS — University of Minnesota football player and four-time cancer survivor Casey O’Brien is facing more surgery this week to remove a spot in a lung.



The walk-on holder made his college debut at Rutgers on Oct. 19, holding all three of the Gophers’ fourth-quarter extra points in their 42-7 victory.

O’Brien this season has shared the story of his cancer fight with ESPN’s “College GameDay” and other programs.

The sophomore from St. Paul, Minnesota, initially was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer at age 13. He has since had a left knee replacement, multiple lung operations and chemotherapy treatments.

The Star Tribune reports O’Brien was nearly two years cancer-free when he wrote about the surgery update Monday on Twitter.