Yaxel Lendeborg injury updates: MRI clean for Michigan star, plans to play vs UConn
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INDIANAPOLIS − Yaxel Lendeborg didn't come this far just to come this far.
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Lendeborg said he sprained his MCL and ankle in the first half of Michigan' basketball's 91-73 national semifinal victory over Arizona, but as he left the locker room postgame for national media interviews, said he's "absolutely" playing on Monday, April 6 (8:50 p.m., TBS) against UConn.
While he was confident after the game was over, he admitted he saw all his hard work flash before his eyes when he went down.
"I definitely felt like I did all of this for nothing in the moment," Lendeborg said. "I definitely had to calm down for a little bit, speak to myself, get out of my thoughts ... I'm playing no matter what. Unless I wake up and I get up and fall off my feet, I'm going to be in that game."
Lendeborg wasn't at media availability as previously scheduled on Sunday afternoon − he was instead undergoing treatment.
The Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-American is among the most vital pieces to the Wolverines' success. It will be a huge relief for the locker room if he can go, even if he says he may be limited to being "a corner 3-point shooter," like he said he was Saturday night.
Dusty May on Yaxel Lendeborg injury
Michigan coach Dusty May said he will leave it up to the athletic training staff, but is optimistic his star will be on the court.
"All imaging has come back clean," May said Sunday. "He's getting treatment and doing rehab all day today, but I'm sure he'll go tomorrow. ... We were laughing he played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA, but a really good 38-year-old.
"Whatever version of Yaxel we get ... will help us."
Yaxel Lendeborg has dealt with injuries this year
Injuries are not new for Lendeborg this year. He opened the season with a banged up thumb on his right hand and later played much of December and into January with a calf strain, which he said limited his explosion at the time.
Even at that time, teammates like Will Tschetter reminded Lendeborg that if he felt he could play, he could help.
"Yaxel at whatever percentage, 80%, 60-70%, we'll take it," senior Will Tschetter said. "He's brought us so far that year, I have no doubt he'll give it his all and we'll take whatever percent he's able to give us."
Not everybody on Lendeborg's team wants him to play. In an interview with CBS Sports, he told Matt Norlander that both his mother and agent suggested he sit out the second half of the Final Four. Lendeborg wasn't having it.
"There's no way they're going to keep me off the floor," he said.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Yaxel Lendeborg injury updates: Michigan star says he'll play vs UConn