Caleb Wilson Has Promising, Four-Word Message About Injury Return Timeline

Wilson could return to the court soon despite fracturing his left hand a week ago.

Wilson fractured his hand during the Tar Heels' Feb. 10 loss to Miami. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Just a week after fracturing his left hand during North Carolina’s loss to Miami, Tar Heels star freshman Caleb Wilson was on the court taking jump shots. Wearing a brace on his left hand, Wilson took to the court at Lenovo Center and hauled up some shots from the perimeter in the lead-up to the No. 16 Tar Heels’ road clash against NC State.

Then, Wilson took to his account on X and essentially echoed what Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis had said about his return timeline on Monday.

“It’s on the way,” Wilson wrote.

Hubert Davis gives indication of Caleb Wilson’s injury return timeline

Wilson’s shooting session and promising tweet comes on the heels of Davis’s own positive injury update on the talented Tar Heels freshman.

“Caleb is, he is great,” Davis said during an appearance on his radio show, according to The Fayetteville Observer. “I think if I said OK, I think he would play with his [splint] on. I think he would.

“
I mean, he's just... champing at the bit to come back, because he loved, obviously, loves playing. But he loves his teammates, and he loves playing here. Very devastating to get the news.”

Wilson returned to the game against the Hurricanes after initially suffering the injury due to mid-game x-rays, which came back negative. But further imaging revealed that Wilson, a projected lottery pick and one of the best players in the country, had fractured his hand. The Tar Heels on Thursday said that Wilson was out “indefinitely.”

Wilson has averaged 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and has set a Tar Heels freshman record by scoring in double figures in each of the 24 games he’s played in. Wilson ranks among the top five players in the ACC with 11 double doubles.

The Wilson injury news at first seemed like it could potentially derail the Tar Heels’ season. Now, it appears that the star freshman could find a way to play through his fractured hand as North Carolina continues its push for the NCAA tournament.

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