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According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch (subscription may be required), the Ohio State basketball team could get starting point guard C.J. Walker back for the game against Wisconsin on Saturday.
Walker has been out four games because of torn ligaments in his hand. He suffered the injury during preseason workouts in November and tried to play through it, but it became too much and he had to shut it down. Now, it appears he may be on the cusp of returning and has been cleared to begin trying to work his way back.
“We’ll see how he does if he can return to practice and to what degree he feels confident in his hand,” Holtmann told the Dispatch. “I wouldn’t rule it out, but it’s going to depend on what he feels like his pain tolerance can be coming back.”
Ohio State won three of the four games without him, turning initially to backup guard Jimmy Sotos, but he too went down with injury a couple of games ago. The team has used a combination of Justice Sueing and Duane Washington mostly to handle the ball coming up the floor that last two times out. It appears as though Sotos is still not ready to get back into action, but Walker’s presence could be huge for the team.
He's missed four games with an injury to his right hand, but CJ Walker could be back in action for No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday at Wisconsin. https://t.co/kLD7QfXV0z
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) January 22, 2021
“Jimmy would be doubtful (against the Badgers),” Holtmann said. “It’ll be a tip decision but it’s probably doubtful. CJ, he could practice. I wouldn’t expect it necessarily to be a situation where he’s thrown right back into 32 minutes a night. I think it’s going to be based on how he feels.”
Ohio State and Wisconsin face each other in Madison at 4:00 p.m. EST Saturday.
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