Dan Hurley Provides Troubling Injury Update On UConn Guard Hassan Diarra

If you’ve cringed at the sight of UConn Huskies point guard Hassan Diarra limping through games recently, brace yourself for the rest of the season.

Diarra is suffering from a knee ailment but won’t be taking any time off this season to heal, according to the latest intel from UConn’s two-time national champion head coach Dan Hurley.

On Sunday, the author of this piece suggested that Diarra should be removed from the lineup immediately unless UConn’s medical staff has deemed that his knee problems are of the sort that wouldn’t improve with just two weeks of rest.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the latter situation is what Diarra and the Huskies are faced with based on comments Hurley made during a pregame media availability session on Monday.

“Hassan will be game time (decision versus Creighton),” Hurley said as UConn looks ahead to a battle with the Bluejays on Tuesday.

“He’s been, let’s just say, limited, and (he) will be for the remainder of the (season) here.”

“The thought was to give him rest … in between games. The problem with doing that with players is then they might not play well. If you don’t practice with the team, then it affects your sharpness (and) also affects the team’s ability to function. But then if you do practice, your health is worse.”

Hurley was then asked if he’s given thought to shutting down Diarra for a period of time.

“It’s up to the player and the medical people,” Hurley replied. “I’m not a doctor. I think to cure what he’s got going, he would probably need an extended period of time ... a month (to) six weeks, eight weeks. Obviously by that time, the season’s over.”

In other words, Diarra will likely be playing on a bum knee for the remainder of the season, a dangerous reality for a UConn team equipped with very shallow depth at point guard.

It should be noted that while Hurley isn’t a doctor, neither are journalists covering UConn. Who knows … maybe Diarra’s knee will improve over the next month or so due to treatment from the Huskies' medical staff.

That seems unlikely given that Diarra’s gait has looked worse and worse in recent games, but stranger things have happened.

The general takeaway here is that Diarra is a tough player who should be lauded for his availability despite not being 100 percent. At the same time, a hobbled Hassan could become a target for opposing offenses as the games become more important in late February and into March.

More NCAA: Ranking The 10 Most Talented Players Dan Hurley Has Coached At UConn