Mike Woodson Provides Injury Update on Xavier Johnson Before Iowa Game

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana coach Mike Woodson said on his weekly radio show with Don Fischer on Monday night that senior point guard Xavier Johnson will not play on Tuesday against Iowa.

Johnson has not played since Dec. 17 at Kansas when he suffered a broken foot that required surgery.

Indiana concludes the regular season on Sunday against Michigan before the Big Ten Tournament begins on March 8. Fischer asked Woodson if there's a chance Johnson could still play this season.

"Yes, it is," Woodson said in response. "He's been on the floor here recently. We're still waiting to get the final approval from the doctors and training staff to make sure that he's ready to go. He won't play [Tuesday]. And then we'll have a few days to continue to work with him, and then we'll see and gauge it on Sunday to see where he is."

Johnson played a key role as Indiana's point guard last season, averaging 12.1 points and playing 27.7 minutes per game across 34 starts. Woodson shared some insight on Monday as to how he might work Johnson back into the rotation if he's able to return.

"If he comes back Sunday, he won't be able to play long minutes," Woodson said. "So the whole thing with me is chemistry. You don't want to mess up chemistry. But all I can relate to is how did coach Knight feel when I was out all those games and I came back? He gave me 40 minutes a game, and I wish I could give X 40 minutes, but that's not being real. So I just have to gauge it and see how it's going early in the game and then make the adjustments from there."

Woodson is familiar with long term injuries, as he was limited to 14 games during his senior year due to a back injury.

"It is [hard] because I've been in those shoes, man," Woodson said. "[Johnson] has been positive. He's put the work in getting to this point to get back out on the floor. So I think he's in a good space mentally, and only time will tell based on how he plays when we put him back in the game."

Johnson has been shooting around before games in recent weeks, but Woodson knows his game relies on speed and agility, which factors in to his return.

"He's been shooting the ball extremely well, but again, when you play this game it's about conditioning," Woodson said. "If you're in pretty damn good shape then it helps your all-around basketball game on both ends of the floor. X's game is predicated on speed and being able to get into the guy that's handling the basketball. We've missed that this season. So only time will tell based on where he is as a player for us."

Indiana has missed Johnson's tenacious perimeter defense in certain losses this season. The Hoosiers will have to play through Johnson's absence again on Tuesday, but Woodson left the door open for a return this season.

"Let's see where he is when we get him back, if we get him back on Sunday."

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