Ohio State head coach Thad Matta had little to say about Jared Sullinger's injured left foot after Saturday's win against South Carolina, aside from relief that the star forward avoided more serious injury.
Jared Sullinger Day-To-Day With Bone Bruise
“We think he’ll be fine,” Matta said, according to the AP. “We’re just happy there wasn’t a break in there.”
Sullinger suffered a bone bruise when he was kicked in the left foot in the first half. He briefly returned after having his foot worked on for several minutes by trainers on the sidelines, but he was badly limping and eventually left the game to undergo X-rays, which did not reveal a fracture. From the AP:
Results of the X-rays showed no fracture in the foot. Still, team spokesman Dan Wallenberg said it was too soon to know when Sullinger might play again. Ohio State faces Lamar on Tuesday and Miami of Ohio on Thursday before opening Big Ten Conference play against Northwestern on Dec. 28.
Matta had yet to speak with Sullinger about the injury. “They told me, `He’s OK.’ I said, `Fine, I’ll go do this stuff” of coaching a highly-ranked basketball team.
Sullinger was playing in just his second game since returning from a two-game absence due to back spasms. He scored three points with two rebounds and a block in six minutes before leaving. In his absence, Deshaun Thomas, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, stepped up with a career-high 30 points on 13-of-16 shooting.
The win was Thad Matta’s 200th since taking over as Ohio State’s head coach in 2004.
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