With the Michigan basketball team blowing out the Arizona Wildcats in the Final Four, the game featured a concerning moment with the injury to Yaxel Lendeborg. As the MRI came back on the Michigan basketball star, the trainer for the program would talk about the injury ahead of Monday's national championship game against the UConn Huskies.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Wolverines trainer Chris Williams would say that the MRI came back “very clean structurally,” as he is dealing with a “low-grade” MCL sprain and a minor bone bruise in the knee. In terms of his playing status for the national title game, Williams is “very optimistic” that he will play.
“Michigan trainer Chris Williams told ESPN the MRI on Yaxel Lendeborg’s knee looks ‘very clean structurally, all the ligaments are very strong.' He says Lendeborg has a ‘low-grade' MCL sprain and a ‘small bone bruise' in his knee. He's ‘very optimistic' Lendeborg will play, Thamel wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Michigan basketball's. Dusty Mayb on Yaxel Lendeborg
The same thought would be echoed by head coach Dusty May, who is looking to capture his first-ever national championship.
“All the imaging has come back clean … I'm sure he'll give it a go tomorrow, but that will be up to him and the medical staff,” May said, via Jeff Borzello. “He played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA. And a really good 38-year-old at the YMCA.”
As May mentioned, Lendeborg would play through the injury in the second half in the blowout against the Wildcats, though, with the score not being close, his minutes were limited to just 14. He would score 11 points on three of four shooting from the field, making all three of his attempts from beyond the arc, to go along with three rebounds.
While the Michigan basketball team has shown itself to be the best in the entire country, there's no denying how crucial Lendeborg has been to the program all season. However, he'll play through the injury as the Wolverines take on UConn in the national title game on Monday.
