Michigan basketball injuries: The latest on Yaxel Lendeborg, others before Wake Forest

The Michigan Wolverines will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena in Downtown Detroit, and should have their star player back close to 100%, according to head coach Dusty May.

Michigan star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who played 22 minutes but did not start the 121-78 win over Oakland last Monday night while dealing with a hand injury, is expected to be nearly full-go on Tuesday.

Freshman wing Winters Grady is also a possibility after missing the opener.

“Yes, Yax should be close to 100%,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said on Monday. “Winters Grady is back practicing now. Winters loves ball so much that he was injured, and he kept re-injuring his foot in a minor way, and basically our medical staff just held him and said you’re not going to be able to play well, move well, as long as you’re going at 50, 60, 70 percent or whatever the case.

“He sat out longer than he wanted to. I think it probably drove him crazy because he loves ball so much. Oakland would have been a great game for him to play because of their zone, and I think with Winters, if you can get him a clean look, there’s probably as good a chance of the ball going in as anyone on our team.

“He’s still trying to figure out where he fits in with the numbers, and obviously, when you’re a freshman and you miss a couple weeks, it gets more difficult, but he’s going to help this team.”

It should also mark the return of sophomore guard LJ Cason to the lineup, who could be the team’s primary backup point guard, or play a different role. May and Michigan have not locked that in yet.

“LJ, the last two days of practice look like he did before his injuries, and he had a couple back-to-back injuries, which is tough,” May said. “So I’m excited to see LJ play. He looked, I guess, more in rhythm the last two days. His conditioning has gotten back to where it was pre-injury. And when these guys go out with an arm injury or shoulder injury, they’re staying on the bike, and our strength coach Matt [Aldred] does a great job with that, with those things, but there’s nothing comparable to basketball shape. And so it looks like he’s back in basketball shape and playing good ball.

“I don’t know if he’s our backup point guard, if he’s our combo with Elliott [Cadeau] and a combo with Roddy [Gayle Jr.] and Trey [McKenney], but without a doubt, I think he can initiate offense or go make plays for himself or his teammates.”

Michigan is a 12.5-point favorite on Tuesday night at LCA with the game set for Fox Sports 1 with Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery on the call. KenProm projects an 86-75 victory over Wake Forest, who is 2-0 after victories over American and Morehead State.