Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo announced Wednesday that junior guard Joshua Langford will sit for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.
Langford had missed MSU's last eight games through a left ankle injury. The co-captain averaged 15 points a game and had started every game for Izzo since his arrival on campus in 2016.
In a statement released through the MSU athletic department, Izzo said: “It’s with great sadness that I have to announce that after numerous studies, rehabilitation and an attempt at return, it has been determined that Josh will miss the remainder of the season,” Izzo said. “Josh has a stress injury that we caught fairly early and we had hoped that, with treatment and rest, he would recover. He has not, and will likely need surgery to prevent problems in the future."
“We hate this for Josh and our team, as he was one of our leading scorers, one of our top 3-point shooters and one of our two best defensive guards. But our commitment to Josh and his long term health is paramount. Josh has seen the best specialist in the country on this issue and we are putting together a plan for his complete recovery for the 2019-20 season."
With Langford's status confirmed and Kyle Ahrens still nursing a lingering back injury, it will likely mean more minutes for freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown.
More from Izzo: “Throughout the process, Josh has done everything asked of him, while maintaining an amazing attitude and doing whatever he could to help his teammates. His selfless attitude is the reason there were tears throughout the meeting room when we shared the news with his team. I’ve never felt worse for a player than I do for Josh, but he’s a very religious kid who believes everything happens for a reason. He’s constantly telling me to not worry about him, but focus on the team. It’s the reason I have so much respect and admiration for the way he’s handled the injury.”
MSU will face Indiana on Saturday evening, tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
