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UNC football gets big Melkart Abou Jaoude injury update ahead of Notre Dame clash
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- UNC football gets big Melkart Abou Jaoude injury update ahead of Notre Dame clash
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UNC football gets big Melkart Abou Jaoude injury update ahead of Notre Dame clash appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
North Carolina Tar Heels defensive end Melkart Abou Jaoude will return Saturday against the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish after missing the past two games with a hand/wrist injury. His return gives UNC football its 2025 ACC sack leader back for a marquee home matchup at Kenan Memorial Stadium.
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ESPN's Pete Thamel took to X, formerly Twitter, Saturday morning to report the news , citing an ESPN source. Abou Jaoude had remained limited while working his way back from the injury.
Abou Jaoude opened the season in North Carolina's 15-10 win over TCU in Dublin, recording four tackles and a sack despite briefly leaving with the hand injury. He then missed the win over East Tennessee State and the 28-20 loss to the Clemson Tigers on September 19.
Abou Jaoude remained sidelined for the Tar Heels' next two games while recovering from the hand/wrist injury. He continued making progress in the days leading up to Saturday's matchup with the Fighting Irish.
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The 6-foot-5, 260-pound redshirt senior earned second-team All-ACC honors in 2025 after leading the conference with 10.5 sacks. That total ranked fifth nationally at the end of the regular season and tied for sixth in North Carolina single-season history. His return adds proven edge pressure to a defense facing one of the nation's highest-ranked teams in an early-season test.
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His return strengthens a UNC defense preparing for an unbeaten Fighting Irish team led by quarterback CJ Carr. North Carolina enters Saturday 2-1, while Notre Dame is 4-0.
Abou Jaoude is set to return for Saturday's noon kickoff on ESPN after missing North Carolina's previous two games.
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