Rick Pitino announced during the postgame press conference after his team's 78-56 win over Western Kentucky that junior center Mangok Mathiang will be out 6-8 weeks with a broken metatarsal bone in his foot. Mathiang suffered the injury at the 11:37 mark of the second half.
The news is a big blow to a Louisville frontcourt which is still searching for consistency. Starting center Chinanu Onuaku has been productive, but foul prone, and forwards Jaylen Johnson and Ray Spalding have each had their moments (especially Spalding), but have also shown spurts of inconsistency.
Mathiang's absence could provide more minutes for sophomore Anas Mahmoud, who himself has missed Louisville's last two games with an ankle sprain. He is expected to be able to play in the Cardinals' Billy Minardi Classic games on Tuesday against UMKC and Wednesday against Utah Valley.
It wouldn't be the holidays if Louisville weren't dealing with an injury to a major contributor right before the Kentucky game.
