John Calipari announces Ugonna Onyenso will miss 'a couple months' after surgery

The one downside to Kentucky’s trip to Canada to play in the GLOBL Jam last week was the injury to sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso. Now, that snag has gone from bad to worse in Lexington.

John Calipari shared an update of his own on Onyenso this afternoon. He said that a minor procedure has already taken place and confirmed that it will keep him off the floor “for a couple of months”.

Ugonna Onyenso underwent a successful minor procedure that will keep him out for a couple of months. Nobody hated missing last week’s games more than him, and I know he’s going to work his way back to once again have a positive impact on this team.

— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 18, 2023

Per Kyle Tucker at The Athletic earlier today, sources around UK had told him and Shams Charania that Onyeno’s injury has been diagnosed as a broken foot. He added that the 6’11 Nigerian would need surgery and is expected to be out for the next two months.

As a freshman last season, Onyenso averaged 2.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and a block per game. He did so in just 6.9 minutes per game over the course of 16 appearances for the Wildcats.

Even so, his role is expected to be much bigger in his second season. That was especially so considering Kentucky’s lack of size at the position. With Oscar Tshiebwe off to the NBA and several portal losses, UK’s frontcourt only has two players, Onyenso and five-star freshman Aaron Bradshaw, at a height of 6’11 or more.

The only issue is, with this news, both have had to undergo surgery this offseason for lower extremity injuries.

The Wildcat’s trip to Toronto was meant to be a proving ground for Onyenso to show that he could man the paint next season. However, the potential of Kentucky’s frontcourt will remain a mystery with Onyenso now sidelined and rehabbing with Bradshaw until closer to the season’s official tipoff.

More on Onyenso’s injury, surgery

Ugonna Onyenso underwent surgery to repair a broken foot. That makes it the second such injury and procedure for a Kentucky big man this offseason. The sophomore center went down with a lower leg injury in a closed scrimmage ahead of the GLOBL JAM. That led to a boot and crutches for Onyenso for the rest of the week.

Onyenso then left the team ahead of the Wildcats’ gold medal matchup vs. Team Canada for further testing. That resulted in a less-than-ideal update from John Calipari to close out the event.

“I feel bad for Ugo, he’s gonna be out awhile,” he said. He added that the injury will keep him out longer than initially anticipated.

Kentucky Sports Radio’s Ryan Lemond was the first to report Onyenso would undergo surgery, breaking the news early Monday afternoon.

Hearing that Ugonna is in fact having surgery on his ankle/foot. He apparently flew from Toronto to New York to have the surgery. I'm sure that's why Cal said he was gonna "be out for awhile"

— Ryan Lemond (@ryanlemond) July 17, 2023

Kentucky’s tallest players are now the 6-foot-9 duo of Tre Mitchell and Jordan Burks. Let small-ball continue as Onyenso and Bradshaw inch their way back to full strength