Robert Vaihola, who started the first five games of the Gophers men’s basketball season before being injured, is expected to undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
Vaihola, a 6-8 forward, suffered a knee injury in the Gophers’ 66-54 victory over Chicago State on Nov. 18 at Williams Arena. In that game, the redshirt senior had four points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes before being injured.
Vaihola, who averaged 5 points and 7.6 rebounds in the first five games, hasn’t played in the Gophers’ eight games since.
Vaihola, a transfer from San Jose State who began his college career at Fresno State, is the second Gophers starter to suffer a season-ending injury.
Point guard Chansey Willis Jr., who started the Gophers’ first seven games, is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering a foot injury in the Gophers’ 72-68 loss to Stanford on Nov. 27 in Palm Desert, Calif.
Vaihola and Willis are candidates to receive a medical redshirt.
The Gophers have been without guard Chance Stephens and forward BJ Omot all season because of health/injury reasons.
The Gophers (8-5) play at Northwestern on Saturday, Jan. 3. The Gophers closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 60-43 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 29. That was the third consecutive victory for the Gophers.
