Yeguete opts to have foot surgery Friday
Thursday, February 23, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Cross Country, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Sophomore Will Yeguete will undergo surgery Friday morning to repair the broken bone in his left foot, an injury that ended the blue-collar forward's season earlier this week.
“The last few days have been tough,” Yeguete said, on crutches and his foot in a boot as he watched his teammates practice Thursday afternoon. “Basically, I've been going back and forth on whether or not to have the surgery ... and I'm going to.”
Yeguete broke the fifth metatarsal (the bone in the foot that attaches to the small toe) during the second half of Tuesday's 63-47 home win against Auburn. The surgery will involve inserting a screw to reinforce the bone, a procedure that will hasten the healing and keep the bone stronger in the long run.
“He could rest it in a boot for six weeks, but there's a stronger likelihood that thing is going to flair up again,” Coach Billy Donovan said. “It could be anything. He could step wrong. Wear and tear. Overuse. But something could happen and that thing could rear itself again.”
The Gators' best front-court defender, the 6-foot-7 Yeguete was averaging 4.4 points per game on 58-percent shooting this season and was tied with freshman guard Bradley Beal as the club's top rebounder at 6.3 per game, having led the team in that category 11 times in 2011-12.
Yeguete said he experienced similar pain in his feet times earlier in the season and was able to play through them.
“So at first I thought the pain would just go away, but this time it stayed and I couldn't put any weight on it," he said. "Now, we just have to take care of it and work on trying to get myself back."
