UNC star freshman forward Caleb Wilson suffered a fractured left hand in the first half of Tuesday night’s 75-66 loss at Miami. The injury was initially reported to be a sprained left wrist and was confirmed as such by a program spokesman, but a release published Thursday afternoon clarified the injury as a fracture.

X-rays taken during the Miami game were negative, and Wilson returned to play in the second half with a wrap on his left hand and wrist after initially leaving the court. Once the team returned to Chapel Hill, additional imaging revealed the fracture. According to the program, the evaluation process is ongoing to determine a timetable for Wilson’s return. Wilson himself took to social media to assure UNC fans he would return this season, as opposed to sitting out for the upcoming NBA Draft.

Wilson’s 12 points in the Miami loss were a season low, and he finished the game with a team-worst -15 plus-minus rating in 26 minutes, meaning the Hurricanes outscored the Tar Heels by 15 points with Wilson on the floor.

When asked about Wilson’s injury after the game, head coach Hubert Davis declined to specify or even acknowledge it had occurred.

“There’s no situation,” Davis said.

Wilson currently leads UNC in scoring (19.8 points per game), rebounding (9.4 rebounds per game), blocks (1.4 per game) and steals (1.1 per game). He has been named to the midseason watch lists for both the Karl Malone Award (given to the nation’s top power forward) and the Wooden Award (given to the national player of the year) and is the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week and National Player of the Week.

UNC’s next game against Pittsburgh Saturday tips off at 2 p.m.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Marta Lavandier

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