UF’s Allen likely out for season
GAINESVILLE (AP) – Florida forward Adam Allen walked into the practice facility Tuesday wearing brown and orange sneakers that matched his warmup jacket.
“This is my go-to outfit,” he joked.
If only he felt as good as he looked.
Allen, sidelined the last six weeks because of a sprained left knee, might not play again this season. Allen plans to test his knee in a few weeks, but coach Billy Donovan said the 6-foot-8 sophomore also is considering taking a medical redshirt this season.
“He’s getting better, but it’s a very, very slow-healing injury,” Donovan said. “You’re probably talking about the end of December, beginning of January, where he could start to get back. What we would probably do is put him in practice for a week to 10 days to figure out if he’s even in a position to help out at all.
“If he can’t help and contribute, I would not want to put him in a position where he’s wasting a year. I don’t think that would be fair to him. I think Adam’s mind-set is he definitely wants to play; that’s what he would like to do. Ultimately it’s going to be the decision of him and his family as they sit down and talk, but what Adam wants to do is see how he looks first.”
Allen sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee during practice Oct. 24 and hasn’t done much since. No running, biking or drills of any kind.
Donovan worries Allen’s lack of activity will leave him in a huge hole when he does try to return.
“His conditioning is going to be really, really bad,” Donovan said. “He has not been able to do anything with his lower body at all. Even if he does look good in the first week, I do worry about fatigue and him getting broken down.
The Gators (6-2), who fell out of the Associated Press college basketball poll after a 57-55 loss at Florida State Sunday, will try to rebound against Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday. Florida isn’t likely to miss Allen in any of its seven games before the Southeastern Conference slate begins, but another big body certainly couldn’t hurt since one of the team’s biggest weaknesses this season has been rebounding.