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BYU got some bad news as Yoeli Childs will miss tonight’s game versus St Mary’s with a dislocated finger.
Yoeli Childs (open dislocation of the right index finger) will not be available for BYU’s game tonight at Saint Mary’s.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) January 10, 2020
Head coach Mark Pope will have more on Childs’ status and prognosis in our radio pregame interview at the bottom of the hour.
Yoeli hurt his finger in Tuesday’s practice, and Mark Pope initially said that Yoeli would be “fine”; that is obviously not the case as the the injury is serious enough to hold Yoeli out. Timetable for this injury is currently unknown, but it can take 4-6 weeks for a dislocated finger to fully recover. BYU also plays at Gonzaga January 18.
BYU officials said that Yoeli could be out a week or more, depending on how it heals.
If Yoeli gets clearance from doctors and is able to play with a tape job or soft cast, he could potentially play not fully recovered. With BYU in position for a NCAA tournament bid, it would not be surprising to see Yoeli return soon and adjust his game — i.e., less outside shooting — to compensate for his injured finger.
BYU played the first nine games without Childs and is used to life without him, but Yoeli is BYU’s best player and is obviously a big loss.
BYU-SMC tip off at 9:10pm MST on ESPN2.