Rugby players who are planning to switch codes to American football in the hopes of avoiding injury might want to think twice. It turns out that despite the thick protective padding worn by American footballers, they are still at risk of suffering the worst career-threatening injury an athlete can suffer: a torn anterior cruciate ligament, commonly known as an ACL tear.

A University of Cincinnati freshman will sit out this season as he recovers from a torn ACL. Lindsay Crook, a member of the Australia national rugby sevens team since 2011, suffered the injury during a non-contact drill at the Cincinnati Bearcats' first practice for this season on Sunday, which will start in the fall.

The 6' 2", 215-pound Crook had wanted to make the transition from high-level professional rugby to American football, and enrolled at Cincinnati which offered him a spot on their team as a linebacker. UC's coaching staff was excited about the transferee from the University of Canberra.

"He [Crook]'s always wanted to play American football ... He's real fast, good athletic ability. I think he ran a 10.8 in the 100 meters in high school," Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville told Cincinnati.com. "We will start him at linebacker because they tackle in rugby. He can kick, he can punt. We're excited about him."

The 20-year-old former Brumbies rugby player and pre-law student went through surgery on Monday to repair the torn ACL. While Crook is expected to miss the entire season, he will be doing so as an injury redshirt, which will still leave him with four years of eligibility.

Cincinnati will be playing its first season in the new American Athletic Conference, composed of the schools left behind when the so-called "Catholic Seven" bolted the Big East Conference and took the name along with them. Crook was part of a 2013 recruiting class that was projected to bolster the Bearcats' bid for the AAC championship and a trip to a bowl game. The Bearcats will play their first game of the season against Purdue on Aug 31.