Mike Woodson Hopes Xavier Johnson Can Return From Injury Before Regular Season Ends

On the "Inside Indiana Basketball' radio show Monday night, Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Xavier Johnson might be able to return from an elbow injury in a week or two.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana coach Mike Woodson isn't closing the door on a potential Xavier Johnson return just yet.

Johnson suffered an elbow injury on Jan. 30 against Iowa that sidelined him indefinitely. The 6-foot-3 senior point guard missed the following four games, a stretch in which Indiana went 1-3.

Indiana hosts Nebraska on Wednesday, then travels to Penn State on Saturday. After that, the Hoosiers have a home game on Feb. 27 against Wisconsin, which Woodson hinted as Johnson's earliest potential return.

"We're hoping maybe in the next week or two he'll be back. We hope," Woodson said Monday on his radio show. "If that's so, that'll give us an opportunity to have him in at least the last three or four games and get ready for the Big Ten Tournament."

Indiana's Xavier Johnson (0) wears the new Fear of God clothing during warmups before the start of the Indiana versus Northwestern men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Aseembly Hall on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024 :: Rich Janzaruk/Herald Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

After the Wisconsin game, Indiana travels to Maryland on March 3, then Minnesota on March 6. The Hoosiers' final home game and senior day will take place on March 10 against Michigan State. 

Johnson has had unfortunate injury luck over the last two seasons. After averaging 12.1 points and 5.1 assists in 2021-22, he broke his foot 11 games into the 2022-23 season and missed the remainder of the year. Johnson received a medical hardship waiver, which granted him a sixth year of eligibility in 2023-24, but he has played in just 14 of Indiana's 25 games due to foot and elbow injuries. Indiana is 8-6 with Johnson and 6-5 without him. 

"He put the work in this summer, and we got him back to where we thought he was. He had good summer play, and then he's had all these injuries hit him again," Woodson said. "I feel for him. I'm trying to keep him in a good space and good place right now because, I mean, this is his last go around. He can't come back next season."

In the midst of an injury-riddled season, Johnson is averaging career lows with 8.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He's shooting 40.7% from the field and 34.8% from 3-point range, in line with his career averages, but his 71.2% mark at the free throw line is a career low. When healthy, though, Johnson was one of the Big Ten's best guards down the stretch of the 2021-22 season.

Freshman Gabe Cupps has started 14 games in Johnson's absences. He's averaging 2.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 40.7% on 3-point attemtps.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• MEET THE OPPONENT, NEBRASKA:  Nebraska heads to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the return game against Indiana on Wednesday. The Huskers won the first meeting in Lincoln 86-70. The Hoosiers are looking for revenge on their home court while the Huskers are searching for their first Big Ten road win. CLICK HERE
• JACK ANKONY COLUMN: The biggest challenge for Mike Woodson in year three coaching Indiana was always going to be getting so many new players to play well together. He added talent but has fallen short in player development and building a roster with complementary pieces. CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY: Indiana's struggles shooting the ball continued to be a problem, and it was prevalent again in a 76-72 loss to Northwestern at Assembly Hall on Sunday in a game that wasn't that close. Indiana is now 14-11 on the year, and it's now just 1-3 in its last four home games. CLICK HERE
• IU FANS' REACTIONS TO ALTERNATE UNIFORMS: Indiana debuted new alternate uniforms on Sunday against Northwestern as part of as collaboration between adidas and Fear of God. Here's what fans across generations had to say about them. CLICK HERE
• WHAT MIKE WOODSON SAID: Here's what Indiana coach Mike Woodson said following Indiana's 76-72 home loss to Northwestern on Sunday. CLICK HERE