Missouri guard John Tonje out for season due to foot injury

Missouri will be without veteran guard John Tonje for the rest of the season due to a foot injury, the program announced on Tuesday.

Tonje had played in eight games this season, averaging 2.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per contest.

“John has been hampered by an offseason foot injury this entire year,” coach Dennis Gates said in a statement. “He was one of our best players during summer workouts before suffering the setback and, unfortunately, the injury has prevented him from being completely healthy and reaching the levels he is accustomed to.”

John Tonje spent his first four seasons at Colorado State before transferring to Missouri this offseason.

His career slowly but steadily began to progress with the Rams, and he was a bona fide problem by the time he left Colorado State.

In his final season with the Rams, John Tonje averaged 14.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while also dishing out 1.3 assists per game. He was a 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard filling the stat sheet on a routine basis.

That’s the player Missouri will look forward to potentially getting back next season.

“We look forward to him taking the proper amount of time to fully recover and then showcasing his skills and complete potential again in the future,” Gates said.

In the meantime, Missouri will look to regroup and gain some momentum early in conference play. The Tigers have started 0-3 in the SEC and have lost six of their last seven games.

That comes after the team managed to start 7-2 this season. Needless to say, simply establishing some consistency would be a good start for the Tigers.

That won’t be easy, though, as three of the next four games are set to be played away from home.

Missouri will face Alabama on the road, then Florida at home, followed by Texas A&M and South Carolina on the road.