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As if the list of things the Utah men's basketball team must overcome this season weren't already long enough, go ahead and add injuries.
Two key players will miss significant time with injuries that forced them out of the Nov. 4 exhibition loss to Division II Adams State. Senior center David Foster will undergo surgery for a broken bone in his right foot Thursday and will miss six to eight weeks, coach Larry Krystkowiak said. Guard Chris Hines will miss two to four weeks, Krystkowiak said, after falling on his ribs against Adams State.
The Utes were already expected to struggle in their first season in the Pac-12, but without two of their four returners, their task could be monumental. Most troubling, Krystkowiak said, will be the absence of Foster. The 7-foot-3 Californian is a defensive stalwart but, more important, the Utes' senior statesman and emotional leader.
Foster has been hampered by injuries before, mainly in his knees and never his feet. An X-ray Monday revealed the break and Krystkowiak said he received the news Tuesday.
The Utes' first nonexhibition game is Nov. 14 at home against San Diego Christian College, but they've been racking up losses of another kind.
Add Foster and Hines to Javon Dawson, the junior power forward who missed the last week of practices with a concussion after getting cracked in the skull by Foster's elbow during a rebounding drill.
Fortunately for the Utes, Dawson has passed early testing and is expected to return to practice this week and be available by Monday.
Twitter: @oramb —
Injured Utes
David Foster, C • Foot, out 6-8 weeks
Chris Hines, G • Ribs, out 2-4 weeks
Javon Dawson, F • Concussion, expected to return this week