LB Etienne Sabino to miss month

Updated: October 8, 2012, 9:39 PM ET

By Austin Ward | BuckeyeNation

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Short on experience at linebacker to begin with, the loss of senior Etienne Sabino will force Ohio State to deal with even less of it for about a month.

Sabino left Saturday night's 63-38 win over Nebraska with a fractured bone in his right leg, and the Buckeyes confirmed it will put the team's third-leading tackler on the shelf for this week's trip to Indiana and likely three more games after that.

Bennett: Big Loss For Buckeyes

Big Ten Etienne Sabino is like an older brother to the Buckeyes' linebacking corps as one of its few veterans, ESPN.com's Brian Bennett writes. Blog

• BuckeyeNation | Big Ten Blog

Mostly a backup throughout his career, Sabino had emerged as one of Ohio State's most consistent defensive performers during the first half of the season and provided valuable leadership at a position loaded with young players -- including freshman Joshua Perry, who will start in his place Saturday.

"Tremendous blow," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said during his Monday news conference. "He's a very good player, but it goes beyond that because he's like a brother to everybody on the team.

"We're going to miss him."

Sabino had 37 tackles, two sacks and an interception in the Buckeyes' 6-0 start. Senior starter Storm Klein now is the only upperclassman on the two-deep depth chart at linebacker.