Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner suffered a toe injury in Saturday's 30-7 loss at TCU and departed the stadium with a protective boot on his left foot.

According to people familiar with the situation, there were no broken bones, and Leidner still hopes to return for this week's game against San Jose State.

But Leidner has sustained two injuries in two weeks. He sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee against Middle Tennessee State and faced TCU's relentless pass rush with a brace on his left knee.

The results weren't pretty, as Leidner completed only 12 of 26 passes for 151 yards, with a fumble and three interceptions. He took two sacks and had seven other rushes — for 11 yards.

Coach Jerry Kill praised Leidner for the toughness he showed, playing through the knee injury. But Kill made no promises Sunday about Leidner's availability for this week.

"I have no idea," Kill said. "I feel bad for the kid, I really do. He's trying as hard as he can."

Leidner isn't the only one hurting. The Gophers have injury concerns up and down their roster, and the problem is particularly acute on offense. It'll be interesting to see how careful they are, knowing the Big Ten schedule starts Sept. 27 at Michigan.

Kill said left guard Zac Epping is playing with a high ankle sprain. Right tackle Ben Lauer has returned from a high ankle sprain, but the Gophers had hoped he could split time with Jonah Pirsig, and Pirsig has a shoulder injury.

"Games are won up front," Kill said. "When you've got a lot of pressure, you get happy feet. So we've just got to do a better job of protecting when we throw the ball, to let the quarterback step into things and feel more comfortable.

"We've got a lot of bodies flying around him right now."

Kill was kicking himself for letting David Cobb play, despite Cobb hardly practicing all week because of a sprained ankle. Cobb had rushed for 220 yards against Middle Tennessee State but was limited to 41 yards on 15 carries against TCU.

Cobb also had a rare fumble, and Kill thought the senior was rusty from a lack of practice reps.

"I've got to do a better job," Kill said. "It isn't anything to do with the kids. I was a bad head football coach [Saturday]. I should know better through 31 years [of coaching]."

For his part, Cobb is undeterred. On Saturday night, he tweeted, "No panic, back to work."

Kill is less concerned about Cobb playing through his injury because it's a low-ankle sprain, not a more troublesome high-ankle sprain.

But Kill added, "You worry about guys like Epping and Mitch [Leidner] because of what they're playing on right now."

Leidner had open receivers, some he overthrew and some he didn't see. In the third quarter, Maxx Williams beat his man and was wide open on a post route. But just as Leidner released that throw, TCU safety Sam Carter got a hand on his elbow. The ball fluttered into the air and was intercepted by Chris Hackett.

The Gophers will look to bounce back against a San Jose State team that they defeated 43-24 last year at TCF Bank Stadium. After seeing several players play ineffectively with injuries at TCU, Kill was asked if he'd be more tempted to rest players in those situations this week, with an eye toward the Big Ten slate.

"I just don't think we can," Kill said. "In football, you've got to play every week. … Would you like to get healed up? Some of those things aren't going to heal up. So you just have to see. Certain kids can respond in different ways."

Joe Christensen jchristensen@startribune.com