Minnesota head coach Niko Medved offers injury update on Robert Vaihola
Minnesota Golden Gophers’s men’s basketball head coach Niko Medved offered an injury update on Gophers forward Robert Vaihola on Tuesday night after Vaihola left the Gophers’ 66-54 win over the Chicago State Cougars.
“He had a collision with his knee,” Medved said.
During the second half, Vaihola suffered the injury when his knee was kicked by Chicago State’s Dailliss Cox on a kickout during a shot attempt. The senior forward would not return to the game for the Gophers.
According to Medved, Vaihola is expected to get his knee further evaluated on Wednesday.
“We’ll know more tomorrow,” he said. “Hopefully it’s nothing structural. He’s a big part of what we do moving forward.”
Through five games for the Gophers, Vaihola has started each game, averaging 21.4 minutes per game. While he’s only averaged five points per game this season, Vaihola has been efficient when shooting from the floor, making 7-of-10 attempts.
He’s also been mostly solid from the free-throw line. In four of his five games, Vaihola has made 9-of-13 attempts but he did struggle in the Gophers’ 72-65 win over Green Bay last Saturday, making just 2-of-9 attempts. He’s also been very good on the boards, totaling 38 rebounds.
Minnesota after their 66-54 win over Chicago State on Tuesday is now 4-1 on the early season. Niko Medved’s team will be back in action on Saturday evening against the San Francisco Dons at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Tip-off is currently slated for 4:30 p.m. CT.
