Alex Condon injury update: Florida star's status revealed for remainder of Sweet 16 vs. Maryland

Alex Condon is officially questionable to return to Thursday’s Sweet 16 game against Maryland, a Florida spokesperson told The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman. He suffered an ankle injury in the first half and headed to the locker room.

Condon appeared to tweak his ankle while diving for a loose ball and didn’t put any weight on his right leg as he got helped to the bench in the first half. Once he got up, he immediately jumped up and down on his left leg as he got help toward the bench. He later headed back to the locker room.

Condon later underwent X-rays out of precaution, TBS’ Lauren Shehadi reported. He later came out of the locker room and was seen riding a stationary bike. In the time since, he’s been doing workouts to stay loose, although there wasn’t an update on the X-ray results. Condon later returned with just over 13 minutes left in the second half.

“I asked for an update on Condon after he rolled that ankle – his right ankle, the same one he hurt back in February,” Shehadi said in the second half. “He’s trying to stay loose, he’s turning that ankle left and right, riding the bike. No word on the X-ray he just took. He went back in the locker room. No definitive word on his return.”

Alex Condon is an important piece to Florida’s success this year, helping the Gators to a No. 1 seed and a Sweet Sixteen berth. He leads the Gators with 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, in addition to his 11.1 points per contest.

Condon previously suffered an ankle injury in February, just 30 seconds into a game against Mississippi State, but returned a few games later. Thursday’s injury was to the same leg, which is why Shehadi said Florida was being so careful with bringing him back against Maryland.

Florida cruised past Norfolk State in its NCAA Tournament opener, but went mano-a-mano against a tough UConn team. The Huskies looked primed for an upset, but the Gators turned on the jets and eventually came away with a gritty 77-75 victory to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Despite the scare, UF is still considered one of the favorites to win the national championship. In fact, ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said the Gators are the team he perhaps trusts the most.

“I have the most confidence in the Gators,” Greenberg said on Get Up on Thursday morning. “After watching the SEC Tournament, they were absolutely incredible. The pace they play with, the force they play with, the confidence they play with, the freedom they play with, their ability to defend and protect the rim, their ability to get to the offensive glass, the ability to have different guys step up.”