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Florida forward Sam Alexis suffers an injury setback

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•about 12 hours•

ZachAbolverdi

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Florida Gators forwards Alex Condon (21) and Sam Alexis (4) sit on the bench wearing a medical boot against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. (Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators forward Sam Alexis missed the last seven games of the regular season as he worked his way back from an ankle injury. He’s been targeting the SEC Tournament for his return, but he suffered a setback this week.

UF coach Todd Golden revealed on Wednesday that Alexis hurt his ankle again in practice.

“He was doing really well, then on Monday we had some guys play 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 and he twisted his ankle again. He missed practice (Tuesday),” Golden said. “I’m hopeful we’ll have him. He looked a lot better today. We’ll kind of see how these next 48 hours go before the game to see, for sure.” 

He suffered the injury at Mississippi State on Feb. 11 and had his left foot in a walking boot. Golden said Alexis returned to practice on March 3 and was progressing well, but he didn’t expect him to be available until this week in Nashville.

Sam Alexis was close to full strength

“He’s doing a lot better,” Golden said of Alexis last Tuesday. “He was flying around and looked very explosive. Looked like he had fresh legs and a fresh motor after being out for a little bit.

“But we’re just going to be cautious with him and make sure he’s fully ready to go. … We’re kind of circling the SEC Tournament for him as a place we want him back being full strength.”

Alexis is averaging 4.9 points, 3.6 points and 12.3 minutes off the bench this season. Golden was asked last week how he will incorporate him back into the frontcourt rotation with Micah Handlogten also in the lineup now.

“It’s part of the puzzle here down the wire. Micah’s playing really, really well. I think he played his best game by a lot since he’s been back against A&M, was just elite on the glass, moving the ball, keeping us in our offense, finding shots for guys and just making a lot of hustle, winning plays that showed up for us. We have depth there. For the first time, I feel like matchups might make the difference in terms of who’s getting a little more minutes.

“There’s certain games that are better for certain guys based on how teams guard, which I think was the deal (against A&M) a little bit. But having all those guys available will be a luxury, and we’re going to need them all, whether it’s foul trouble, whether it’s some injuries or matchups. There’s going to be a different opportunity I feel like for all these guys down the stretch where they can really help us continue to win games the rest of the way.”

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