Florida G Eli Carter avoids serious foot injury

Florida Gators basketball received some good news Saturday when an MRI revealed that redshirt junior guard Eli Carter, who hurt himself late in practice on Thursday, has suffered a mid-foot sprain and not a dreaded Lisfranc injury.

The school announced the test results Saturday evening.

The second Florida starter dealing with an injury already this season, Carter missed Friday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe and could be seen on the bench with a big boot on his foot. Head coach Billy Donovan announced after the game that X-rays on Carter’s foot were negative for a break, but team doctors wanted to do an MRI to fully diagnose the issue.

“They’re concerned with a Lisfranc, whatever her name is or his name is, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of Lisfranc,” said Donovan. “They want to look in to, I think, rule that out, or it’s just a mid-foot sprain. If it’s [a Lisfranc], from what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty extensive time he’s going to be off. And if it’s the other one, then they’re hoping 8-10 days. … We’re just hoping that it’s not the other thing.”

A Lisfranc, which Carter avoided here, is a serious injury to the region of the midfoot that connects it with the forefoot and not only helps stabilize the entire foot but also preserves the arch. There is a Listfranc joint that can be fractured and a Listfranc ligament that can be torn. It is a rare injury suffered by football players and even less common for basketball players as it usually occurs when a foot is planted and stuck in the ground and then gets severely twisted by momentum or a hit. The injury can keep an athlete out for 2-4 months.

Instead, Carter is expected to miss about a week of action. He is currently the Gators’ second-leading scorer with 14.5 points per game and had one of the most efficient shooting performances in school history in Florida’s one-point loss to Miami on Monday.

Whether Carter will be available for the upcoming 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas remains to be seen.

Florida has also yet to determine whether redshirt junior Dorian Finney-Smith will travel with the team. Finney-Smith has been cleared to play but is dealing with two hairline fractures in his non-shooting hand. Donovan also noted Friday that he told Finney-Smith not to attend practice or games while rehabilitating in order to focus on academics.