The UCF Knights suffered another injury, and it was their biggest yet.
Center Tacko Fall will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury he’s endured all season, the team announced early Saturday afternoon. The junior will undergo surgery later this month to repair the damage.
“Injuries are unfortunate, but they are just part of the game,” Fall said, per the team’s press release. “It pains me that I won’t be able to be out there and compete with my brothers, however, I’ll still keep cheering and being the best teammate I can possibly be. Great things are still ahead of us.”
Fall is the latest in a slew of injuries the Knights have endured this season.
Starting point guard B.J. Taylor, who made his return in a Jan. 16 loss to the No. 12 Cincinnati Bearcats, was sidelined with a fractured foot he suffered in the season-opener. Michigan Wolverines transfer Aubrey Dawkins didn’t even make it to the start of the season before being sidelined with a shoulder injury. Redshirt sophomore Chance McSpadden is currently nursing a sprained ankle.
“It’s unfortunate for any young man to miss this amount of time playing the game that he loves due to an injury,” Knights head coach Johnny Dawkins said of Fall, per the release. “Our top priority at UCF is to maintain the wellbeing of our student-athletes, so our main concern, right now, is getting Tacko back to being 100-percent healthy.”
Before his injury, the 7-foot-6 center started 15 of his 16 appearances, averaging 7.3 rebounds per game, 1.9 blocks per game and a career-high 11.3 points per game.
Fall concluded his third season with three double-doubles, including a 19-point, 11-rebound, 5-block performance against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
The Knights face their first challenge without Fall on the road Saturday against the USF Bulls. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for the rest of the year without Fall, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
