Ugonna Onyenso undergoes surgery, sidelined "a couple of months"

Ugonna Onyenso underwent surgery to repair a broken foot, 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 tune-up scrimmage in Toronto ahead of the GLOBL JAM, leading to a boot and crutches the rest of the week.

Onyenso then left the team ahead of the Wildcats’ gold medal matchup vs. Team Canada for further testing, resulting 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, adding 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

And then Tuesday, Calipari confirmed the surgery, adding that it was a “successful minor procedure” that would keep him out “for a couple of months.”

“Ugonna Onyenso underwent a successful minor procedure that will keep him out for a couple of months,” he announced. “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.”

Kyle Tucker of The Athletic reported the injury was, in fact, a broken foot expected to keep him out “roughly two months.”

Kentucky sophomore big man Ugonna Onyenso suffered a broken foot and is undergoing surgery, sources tell me and @ShamsCharania. Onyenso and fellow five-star big man Aaron Bradshaw have both needed foot surgery this summer.

What you need to know:https://t.co/9JdgYOXZ1m

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) July 18, 2023

Aaron Bradshaw underwent foot surgery earlier this summer, forcing him to miss Kentucky’s trip to Toronto. Calipari said in late June, though, that the expectation remained that the five-star freshman would ultimately be good to go by the start of the regular season.

“Not from what the doctors are telling me,” Calipari said in June when asked if Bradshaw will miss the start of the season. “We will not rush him back. We won’t. You know it’s — for what he did and how he did it and how quickly, like, when he decided it, it was a day and a half later, two days later, he had the operation. So he wants to play, yes.”

Bradshaw’s fracture could have healed naturally, but any slip-up could have led to a prolonged absence — again, foot injuries with 7-footers are nothing to mess around with. Instead, he decided to get it done to ensure he’d suit up for the Wildcats.

“Let me say this: he was one of the stars,” Calipari said of Bradshaw. “Had a foot injury, had a choice to make. Do you let it heal or do you do an operation? He waited for a minute to say, let me see this. But at the end of the day, he said, I want an operation because I want to play.”

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