RALEIGH - N.C. State has lost one talented running back for the season but might get another back for Saturday's football game against East Carolina.

The school announced Thursday evening that Toney Baker is out for the season after having knee surgery. Jamelle Eugene, who missed the first three games because of an ankle injury, is listed as probable for East Carolina, which means he has a 75 percent chance of playing.

N.C. State didn't release its injury report until after coach Tom O'Brien held his post-practice news conference, so he was unavailable for comment.

Baker, a junior, began the season with 1,272 career rushing yards but suffered a season-ending knee ligament tear in the 2007 opener against Central Florida. He returned to practice briefly at the beginning of the preseason but had surgery in August to remove extra cartilage that had developed in his knee and was causing pain.

He said on the team's media day Aug. 16 that he hoped to return to the field in two to three weeks. That return won't happen, though it's not clear whether he has had additional surgery.

He joins a long list of injured N.C. State players:

* Top wide receiver Donald Bowens will miss the entire season because of stress fractures in his lower back.

* Backup tight end Matt Kushner and former starting safety Javon Walker are out for the season because of knee injuries.

* Starting defensive tackle Alan-Michael Cash is out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery this week.

* Starting tight end Anthony Hill (strained chest muscle) and reserve defensive end Jeff Rieskamp (shoulder) are out for Saturday's game.

"I don't think there's a hex," O'Brien said Thursday. "Kids get hurt; it's just that we've had more than our fair share."

The only encouraging news about injuries this week for N.C. State is the possible return of Eugene, who injured an ankle during the preseason.

He entered the preseason as the starter after rushing for a team-high 667 yards in 2007 but didn't return as quickly from the ankle injury as O'Brien had expected.

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