SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A season that started with so much promise for Robby Carmody is now suddenly over.

Carmody, a 6-foot-4 guard who last month became the first freshman in 16 years to start a season opener for the Notre Dame men's basketball team, will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum.

An MRI on Thursday discovered the tear.

“Not what we wanted to see,” said Carmody, a Mars graduate.

After sitting down with the coaching staff, the decision was made Friday to shut Carmody down for the season.

Good thing, too. Had Carmody played Saturday against Purdue, he would have lost a season of eligibility.

As it is now, Carmody can receive a medical redshirt and won't lose a season.

He will undergo surgery to repair the labrum tear in early January.

Carmody is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the 2019-20 season.

It's been a bittersweet beginning to his career with the Irish.

Carmody scored 11 points in his debut against the University of Illinois-Chicago. But near the end of that game, he hurt his left shoulder while reaching for a loose ball.

Carmody, though, thought he dodged a bullet when the shoulder felt better. He started the next game and scored eight points against Chicago State University.

However, Carmody re-injured the shoulder and this time it didn't get better.

The injury dogged him for the rest of his now-abbreviated freshman campaign, especially in the last two weeks.

Carmody went scoreless in his last three games and four of his last five while playing sparingly.

“I tried to tough it out,” Carmody said. “But I was hurting the team by doing it. I feel like I was letting the team down.”

Carmody played in nine games — two starts — and averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10 minutes per game.

Carmody said there is no doubt he will remain with the team during his recovery.

“I've always considered myself a really good locker room presence,” he said. “It's important for me to help the team any way I can.”

First, though, he's going to use this time to help himself.

Carmody said the injury may be a silver lining of sorts. It will give him time to observe the Division I game at a high level and work on the things he needs to improve, namely his shot.

“Because it's my left shoulder, I can do one-hand form shooting with my right,” Carmody said. “That's what I really need to work on — my shooting. I can really hone in on that and get better.”

There was little wrong with his shot at Mars.

As a senior last year, Carmody was named Gatorade Pennylsvania Player of the Year after averaging 31.1 points and 14.1 rebounds per game while leading the Planets to the PIAA 5A final.

Now Carmody's focus will be to get healthy and return a better player in 2019-20.

“I've come back from injuries before, fortunately not as bad as this one,” Carmody said. “I know what kind of heart and dedication to takes to come back. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back next year and proving what I can do.”