Tennessee basketball was without JP Estrella on Thursday night in its 89-60 win over Tennessee State. Following the win, head coach Rick Barnes provided a potential timeline for when Estrella could return.
“I don’t know,” Barnes said following the win. “When I asked Chad (Newman) about it the other day, he said a bone bruise could be anywhere (from) a couple weeks — whatever a couple is. Somewhere there. I think it will be based on him and his comfort level and when he feels he is ready to go.”
Estrella suffered an injury late in the first half of Tennessee basketball’s win over Rice. He was bending down to grab a loose ball when a Rice player made an attempt to grab the basketball and pushed Estrella’s left leg back. He immediately grabbed his left leg and was in clear pain.
The sophomore big man limped off the floor with the help of two Tennessee staffers and went straight up the tunnel instead of going to the Vols’ bench. Estrella returned to the bench in the second half with a towel around his head and a bag of ice on his knee but did not return to the game.
The injury looked bad in the moment but the Vols avoided the worst with Estrella suffering just a bone bruise on his left knee. Estrella did not play against Tennessee State and is expected to miss some time but the injury is not season ending.
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Estrella has been a breakout star for Tennessee early this season, averaging 14 points, 6.5 rebounds and one assist per game. The 6-foot-11 big man’s numbers were even more impressive before he totaled just four points and one rebound in nine minutes against Rice before he suffered the injury.
Tennessee has exceptional front court depth this season which minimizes the significance of a short term injury for Estrella. Both Jaylen Carey and DeWayne Brown saw extended roles against Tennessee State on Thursday with Carey totaling six points, four rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes while Brown totaled 13 points and three rebounds in 16 minutes.
“Very high,” Barnes said of his confidence in Carey and Brown. “We’ve spent more time with those guys this year than J.P. I mean, J.P. missed the entire summer, basically. And so those guys are skilled, can pass the ball. And so, yeah, that’s not a confident issue.”
After playing five buy games to begin the season, Tennessee’s schedule gets significantly more challenging beginning next week at the Players Era Festival. The Vols will play three games in Las Vegas with the first two coming against Rutgers and Houston.
Tennessee then begins the month of December with a road trip to Syracuse, a matchup with Illinois and Nashville and then a home game against Louisville. Both Illinois and Louisville currently rank in the nation’s top 15.
