STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Injuries are mounting for No. 10 Penn State, as coach James Franklin announced Tuesday that offensive tackle Paris Palmer will miss the rest of the season after suffering a leg injury in the first quarter of Saturday's game against Indiana.

Franklin declined to release specifics about the injury. Palmer is now one of four injured Nittany Lions offensive linemen.

"We do have a little bit of an injury situation going on," Franklin acknowledged during his weekly news conference.

Offensive tackle Brendan Mahon, who was hospitalized last week, was not listed on this week's depth chart. But Franklin again declined Tuesday to say whether Mahon was out for the year, saying only that, "We'll see how it goes."

Offensive lineman Connor McGovern, a true freshman, also was injured Saturday -- although Franklin said it was too early to say whether he would return in time for Saturday night's game against Rutgers. The fourth injured lineman, Andrew Nelson, suffered an apparent knee injury last month.

Palmer's injury Saturday was the latest blow to an improved offensive line that took an obvious step back without four tackles. Penn State allowed 15-tackles-for-loss against Indiana.

The redshirt senior limped off the field Saturday and headed to the locker room after blocking on a play in which quarterback Trace McSorley scampered for a 10-yard touchdown. Palmer later returned on crutches.

As a result, Franklin has not ruled out taking off the redshirts of true freshmen Will Fries and Michal Menet. As it stands, redshirt freshman Ryan Bates and redshirt sophomore Chasz Wright are expected to start Saturday.

Franklin remained optimistic about any potential changes Tuesday, however, because Penn State overcame numerous injuries at linebacker earlier in the season. At one point, seven linebackers were hurt or unavailable for the Lions.

"I'm proud of the mentality we had at linebacker earlier in the year when we faced some challenges," he said. "Same thing with the offensive line right now."