FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman’s report
Louisville fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
Cardinals senior Terrence Williams came down awkward on his right knee and heard a pop. Usually, that means a season-ending ACL injury.
Instead, according to Louisville coach Rick Pitino, T-Will is going to miss about a month with a torn medial meniscus - which should put him back on the court in time for the Nov. 22 opener against Morehead State.
``We were positive it was going to be an ACL,” Pitino said. “He landed on it the wrong way. The good news is he’ll be back in four weeks.”
Williams is one of the keys on a team that could be as talented as anyone other than North Carolina on paper.
With the addition of freshman Samardo Samuels, the Cardinals - who won 27 games and advanced to the Elite Eight last season - have three potential first-rounders in Earl Clark, Williams and Samuels. The key will likely be point guard play from Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa.
Official University Statement
University of Louisville senior forward Terrence Williams suffered an injury to his right knee in a pickup game on Tuesday at the Yum! Center and will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test taken at Jewish Hospital revealed a medial meniscus tear in his right knee. He will have surgery within the next few days. It was a non-contact injury in which Williams came down wrong on the knee.
"I'm ecstatic that it's not an ACL tear as was first feared," said U of L Coach Rick Pitino. "He'll be out only a short period of time and we know he'll come back as good as new. We're totally relieved."
Williams averaged 11.1 points last season and was among the BIG EAST Conference leaders in assists (4.5), rebounding (7.2), assists-turnovers ratio (1.54) and minutes played (35.9). A two-time All-BIG EAST Conference and NABC All-District 7 second team selection, Williams produced two triple-doubles as a junior -- only the third and fourth triple-doubles in U of L history. The team co-captain enters his senior year No. 48 in career scoring at U of L with 1,102 career points.