As Western Kentucky feared, forward Mike Walker’s season is officially over after a torn ACL in his left knee.

Walker suffered the injury in Thursday’s 71-66 loss to South Alabama; confirmation that his injury was season-ending came Monday.

According to WKU coach Darrin Horn, Walker will have surgery next week. Barring unexpected circumstances, Walker will be sidelined for six months.

The injury ends what had been a turnaround season for Walker. He languished on the bench during the 2006-07 season, but became a steady reserve this year - Walker was averaging 3.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in almost 17 minutes a game.

“It’s heartbreaking just for him personally,” Horn said. “He’s been through so much on and off the court, to get to the level he was at. For it to be taken away from him, it’s extremely disappointing.”

Although he is listed as a senior, the 6-foot-7 Walker can regain another year of eligibility by continuing to make progress toward his degree.

“It’s hard for me,” sophomore guard A.J. Slaughter said. “I just hope he gets better, comes back next year and starts on the path that he was on.”

Walker was unavailable for comment Monday.

The Hilltoppers close out the regular season this week with Wednesday’s game at Florida International and Saturday at Florida Atlantic before opening the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on March 9 in Mobile, Ala.

“We’ve been talking to him and telling him that we’re going out and getting the championship for him and other seniors, and make sure he’s cutting down the net when we go to Mobile,” Slaughter said.

Some of Walker’s best games came recently; he averaged 6.8 rebounds in the four games before his injury.

Walker was only the Hilltoppers’ third leading rebounder, but perhaps the most consistent considering the minutes he played.

“Nobody is going to do what Mike did,” Horn said. “He just has a unique ability to go and grab some of those rebounds. Collectively, we have to make up for his presence and some of the numbers he did produce.”