Good Morning, Illini Nation: More injury concerns for Illinois
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Good Morning, Illini Nation: More injury concerns for Illinois
Nov. 3—The injury news from Brad Underwood ahead of Monday's season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson included David Mirkovic undergoing an emergency appendectomy Saturday night. The sophomore forward, of course, was already sidelined indefinitely following offseason foot surgery.
It was news that required a follow-up Monday given I missed Sunday's media availability with the Illinois coach traveling back from covering Illini football's win at Maryland.
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So I asked Underwood on Monday night after his team walloped Fairleigh Dickinson 120-45 if Mirkovic's appendix had burst. There's a real difference — both in severity and recovery — between a burst appendix that typically requires an open procedure and an inflamed appendix removed laparoscopically.
Mirkovic's was the latter.
That's the good news for Illinois on the injury and illness front.
The bad news? That would be senior forward Jake Davis, who suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of Monday's game, was immediately escorted to the locker room by athletic trainer Justin Games and didn't even return to the bench.
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"I don't know the whole diagnosis yet, but it didn't sound great," Underwood said.
The least clear injury news involves Lincoln Williams. The Kankakee native suffered a practice injury last week the day before Illinois' exhibition finale. Underwood never said what injury Williams suffered after his slip and fall in practice, but the freshman guard did leave the exhibition against UIC in the first half holding his groin before not returning in the second half and not playing Monday.
The connective thread for all three players? Underwood has provided no clear timetable on when any of them could return.
