Alabama Basketball's Juwan Gary Now Expected to Miss Multiple Games with Shoulder Injury

While initially reported that Gary would be sitting out Saturday against Georgia, coach Nate Oats clarified that the redshirt-freshman forward will be out for multiple games

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball's injury woes grew worse on Friday afternoon, as coach Nate Oats revealed that redshirt-freshman forward Juwan Gary will be out for multiple games.

Gary suffered a shoulder injury in the opening minutes at South Carolina on Tuesday night. After taking a hard fall, Gary immediately grabbed his shoulder, writhing on the floor in pain. He was immediately removed from the game and taken to the locker room for evaluation and was unable to return.

It was reported on Thursday afternoon that Gary would be forced to miss Saturday's matchup against Georgia, but on Friday afternoon Oats revealed that Gary's absence will be for more than just one game.

“They looked at everything,” Oats said. “No surgery needed. It’s just a matter of how quickly he can through rehab. Probably a couple of weeks, maybe a little longer. It was pretty bad. I mean, the injury wasn’t good. Stuff was messed up there and he’s still super sore but it’s going to depend on how quickly he can get through rehab so he won’t be available for the next few games at least.”

Along with Gary, the Crimson Tide are also experiencing injuries with two other players. Grad-student forward Jordan Bruner continues to be absent from games due to a torn meniscus that he suffered back on Jan. 12 at Kentucky. Bruner was initially announced to be out for three to four weeks, but exactly one month after the initial injury, Oats said that Bruner will still be out in order for him to complete his recovery.

Senior wing Herb Jones also continues to struggle with back pain and hasn't practiced with the team going on two weeks. Jones has been able to see minutes in games and is going through non-contact drills in practice, but still is experiencing issues.

Oats said that with the absence of Bruner and now Gary, it has been difficult for him and his staff to bench Jones when he is needed out on the court.

“I had a discussion with Herb and all of our seniors this morning about a lot of different topics before we went into video and practice but that was one of them we brought up,” Oats said. “With Juwan out, with Bruner out, it’d be hard to sit Herb just with our depth and everything. We’re trying to win the league and we’re only two-thirds way through the league — we’ve got a third of the league season left to go.

"We gotta push through and try to win this. Another thing is playing doesn’t set him back any further. Only if he takes a hard fall, which is why we’ve been keeping him out of practice.”

Alabama basketball faces Georgia on Saturday in Coleman Coliseum (2:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network).