After assessment, Auburn’s Jaylin Williams’ knee injury was determined to be “non-season ending.”
Auburn’s 13th-ranked men’s basketball team, Bruce Pearl, and the university’s supporters can all breathe a sigh of relief.
After a preliminary assessment on Sunday morning, Auburn fifth-year forward Jaylin Williams’ knee injury from Saturday’s loss to Kentucky was determined to be “non-season ending.”
Auburn released a statement on Sunday. “Graduate senior forward Jaylin Williams was evaluated this morning and has a non-season ending knee injury,” the statement read.
Auburn’s announcement followed Williams’s brief but heartfelt post on X, the social media site that was formerly known as Twitter.
“I’ll be alright,” Williams wrote.
Midway through the second half of Saturday’s loss to No. 22 Kentucky, Williams appeared to injure his right knee after going up for a contested dunk and landing awkwardly. After that, Williams was assisted to the locker room without bearing any weight on his injured leg. He did not come back to the Auburn bench during the Tigers’ 70-59 defeat.
Bruce Pearl, the head coach of Auburn, expressed concern about Williams’ injury after the game.
“We believe he must possess something; we believe it to be something.” He had pivot, so it’s not just a bang,” Pearl remarked. “We’ll examine it after we perform an MRI tomorrow.”
Although Williams’ preliminary evaluation yielded positive results, it is uncertain how much time he could miss. As a result, Pearl and the Tigers will probably need to make some adjustments to replace Williams’ production. Williams is the winningest player in Auburn history and is averaging 13 points and 4.7 rebounds per game this season.
Following Saturday’s defeat, Pearl remarked, “If Jaylin’s out, we’re going to have to figure some things out.” We have guys who I believe will step up. However, Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams are our two best players. Therefore, the next man up must step up if he is out for a short while. That is a noteworthy setback.
