Sophomore forward Alex Condon, sidelined the last four games with a low-ankle sprain, could make his return to action for the third-ranked Gators in Tuesday night’s SEC road game at Georgia.
ATHENS, Ga. – Alex Condon dressed out Saturday night at LSU and went through Florida’s pregame warm-up. The sophomore forward was unlikely to play against the Tigers, but used the circumstance as another workout, another step toward getting back on the floor for the Gators.
That was three days ago, which means there have been several more such steps since.
I’m feeling pretty good,” the 6-foot-11, 230-pound Australian and team rebound leader said Monday. “Just taking my time with my recovery, making sure I’m not rushing back.”
It’s been exactly two weeks since Condon collapsed to the floor 30 seconds into UF’s game Feb. 11 at Mississippi State. The scenario was alarmingly reminiscent to the one that played out with senior point guard and leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. at Tennessee 10 days before that. In both cases, the Gators dodged serious injury bullets. Same with the hip pointer that befell fifth-year guard Alijah Martin on Feb. 4 against Vanderbilt.
Clayton missed one game, Martin missed two and Condon (discounting his 30 seconds in Starkville) missed four. Their UF teammates, however, hardly missed a beat.
The third-ranked Gators (24-3, 11-3) are on a six-game winning streak – the run coinciding with those three starters absent a combined seven games – and now look to inch closer to full strength when they face Southeastern Conference rival Georgia (16-11, 4-11) Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry‘s “Pregame Stuff” setup here]
Condon was full-go at practice Monday and listed as “questionable” on the game’s first availability report Monday night.
“I think he’ll play, unless something happens at practice,” UF coach Todd Golden said earlier Monday, allowing both team and player intend to proceed with caution. “He was very close on Saturday. I think he wanted to play. He was chomping at the bit a little bit. But just as we’ve been able to do with Walt and Alijah, we just don’t want to bring him back too early. Obviously, every game for us in the SEC feels like the Super Bowl, but we also want to make sure we’re ready for March.”
On Monday, “Condo” was running reps with front-line rotation players; even taking turns in the lineup with 7-1 Micah Handlogten, a frontcourt combination that has not been on the floor together in nearly a year. It was a “big” and beautiful sight.
