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Alijah Arenas injury update: Knee injury will sideline him at least 6-8 months

Erik-McKinneyby: Erik McKinney07/24/25ErikTMcKinney
Alijah Arenas
Pamela Smith | Imagn Images

The traumatic offseason continues for Alijah Arenas as NBA Insider Chris Haynes first reported today that the USC five-star freshman suffered a torn meniscus could could keep him out for at least 6-8 months. The school later confirmed that Arenas did suffer a knee injury that will keep him out for that projected time frame.

The 6-foot-6, 199-pound Arenas was the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and a major recruiting win for USC head coach Eric Musselman. But this is the second devastating development of the summer for Arenas. One month ago, Arenas was hospitalized for six days following a car crash.

This is obviously heartbreaking news for Arenas, who had made a full recovery from the extreme smoke inhalation he suffered as a result of the crash. It’s also a huge blow to the USC Trojans as Musselman and company were going to rely on the freshman to be an immediate-impact player and potentially a big-time scorer.

This is a USC team with just one returning player from last season and needing to fit together a ton of new faces. Arenas was a prolific scorer in high school and looked set to take on some of that responsibility this season.

Arenas averaged 29.3 points per game his final high school season and 30.9 points per game over his three-year career.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz