Illinois' Brad Underwood Offers Injury Updates on Kylan Boswell, Ty Rodgers

Underwood offered the latest on the health status of guards Kylan Boswell and Ty Rodgers in a Friday press conference

Nov 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) brings the ball up court against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Illinois’ recent brilliance is hard to neatly encapsulate, but we'll take a shot at it: The Illini have won 12 straight games, the last five of which were without second-leading scorer and top perimeter defender Kylan Boswell. And, mind you, two of those past five victories were road wins against top-five opponents.

Oh, and Illinois hasn’t even had a healthy Ty Rodgers – who started all 38 games in the Illini’s Elite Eight run in 2023-24 – at any point this season. That’s how good Brad Underwood’s squad is. But that’s not the scary part for opponents. What's spooky is how great Illinois can be if and when those two return.

Few teams riding a double-digit winning streak are operating much below 100 percent, yet the Illini are humming along with a key starter and another player who has been in the past. On Friday, one sleep away from Illinois' eagerly awaited matchup with No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing (7 p.m. CT, FOX), Underwood updated the status of both Boswell and Rodgers.

Illinois' Brad Underwood offers injury update on guard Kylan Boswell

Jan 11, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) controls the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

“He’s doing partial practice work,” Underwood said of Boswell, who has been sidelined since mid-January with a broken hand. “We’ll see. I don’t have any other things on that. He is much more into the conditioning mode. He’s got it bandaged in practice. The stitches are out. I don’t have a time frame, but he is doing partial stuff in practice. No live up-and-down stuff yet, but participating in some of our halfcourt stuff.”

The Illini head man originally reported that Boswell would be sidelined until mid-February, meaning he should be back in action relatively soon. There have been zero hints of a setback in his recovery process.

Brad Underwood updates injury status of Illinois' Ty Rodgers

Mar 15, 2024; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ty Rodgers (20) shoots as Ohio State Buckeyes center Felix Okpara (34) defends during the first half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

As for Rodgers, who suffered a serious knee injury over the summer (and recently battled a mild groin injury), his timeline remains a bit murkier. With just eight regular-season games left for Illinois, it remains to be seen whether Rogers will see any game action this year.

“For him, it’s just been the slower process because he hurt his groin,” Underwood said. “He got a tip dunk in practice the other day, and that’s nice to see. I think that they’re looking for a certain level of percentage of strength compared to his other leg. And until he gets to that, we’ll never put him in that situation – put him out there. But he’s doing a great job on our scout team and doing some things, especially in the halfcourt, that are pretty effective.”