The freshman will likely miss the rest of January
Liam McNeeley is likely to be out for a few games due to a high ankle sprain that occurred in UConn’s 86-81 win over DePaul, head coach Dan Hurley told the media on Saturday.
He suffered the injury in the second half of the DePaul game fighting for a loose ball. Colliding with a DePaul player, McNeeley took a hard spill and had to be helped off the floor. He later returned to the team bench in a walking boot.
The average recovery time for a high ankle sprain is four weeks, a timetable the Huskies hope McNeeley can accelerate as Big East play intensifies. The freshman has been an essential part of UConn’s winning ways so far this season. Through the team’s first 14 games, he has ranked second in minutes per game (30.2) and points per game (13.6) and third in rebounds per game (5.3) and three-pointers made (25).
In his absence, head coach Dan Hurley will look to some of the other team’s forwards to step up and supplement McNeeley’s production. Guys like Jayden Ross and Jaylin Stewart could both play elevated roles as soon as Sunday’s game against Providence while McNeeley rehabs.
This isn’t the first time this season the Huskies have had to play without one of their top players. Alex Karaban missed two games following a concussion he suffered in the final game of the Maui Invitational. UConn would go on to win both games against Maryland Eastern Shore and Baylor.
In January, the Huskies will play Providence, Villanova, Georgetown, Butler, Creighton, Xavier, and DePaul before they take on their toughest Big East opponent yet — Marquette on Feb. 1. Hurley and the Huskies hope to have McNeeley back by then on what will be a showdown of the Big East’s two best teams.