CBB insider offers huge outlook of Illinois star forward David Mirković’s injury status originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Not every college basketball off-season is smooth sailing, and the Illinois Fighting Illini program, led by coach Brad Underwood, is finding this aspect of an attempt to duplicate this past spring’s Final Four success the hard way.
Tuesday afternoon, the Illinois athletic department released a statement concerning Illinois power forward David Mirković. According to the release, Mirković had to have surgery to repair an injured left foot.
Below is the full statement.
“Illinois sophomore forward David Mirkovic(Niksic, Montenegro) underwent successful surgery today in Indianapolis after suffering a left foot injury during a team workout in Champaign on July 31,” the statement read. “He is expected to make a full recovery.”
Within the last 18 hours, however, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman offered a mix of hope and concern for Illinois fans who are rooting for Mirkovic’s speedy recovery after averaging 13.3 points and eight rebounds last season as a freshman.
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“According to my sources, big Mirk is gonna be out six to eight weeks,” Goodman said during a recent podcast on “The Field of 68.” “That puts him at, you know, conservatively back a month before the first game of the season, which will come on Nov. 2 against Fairleigh Dickinson.”
Goodman said that if this timeline turns out to be correct, it’s actually a great benefit to Illinois because the meat of its non-conference schedule doesn’t fully take effect for several weeks following the opener.
“Luckily, they have FDU,” Goodman said. “Then they have Penn. Then they get a [rematch] at Texas Tech. So, you’re looking here at an injury that’s gonna take him off the court for much of the preseason. The second part of the off-season, but the good news for Illinois is they bring back so much.”
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Goodman said he doesn’t think Illinois’ losses of guards Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell from last season will hurt the team an overwhelming amount.
Overall, though, there is reason for optimism in Champaign. But for now, only time will tell.
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