Louisville Guard Koren Johnson to Get Shoulder Surgery, Miss Remainder of Season

The Cardinals guard had missed the last five games.

Nov 4, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Koren Johnson (3) looks to pass again Morehead State Eagles guard Kade Ruegsegger (3) during the second half at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Morehead State 93-45. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Yet another player for the Louisville men's basketball program has been lost for the season.

Guard Koren Johnson, who has missed the last five games due to a shoulder injury, announced Tuesday that he will be getting surgery that will require him to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season. He intends to apply for a medical redshirt at the end of the season.

"Card Nation! I have decided to redshirt this year and get shoulder surgery to make sure I'm in the best shape possible for next year and my future! I appreciate all the love and support," he said in a post to Twitter/X.

It's only the latest in a myriad of developments on the injury front for Louisville. On Monday, the program announced that starting forward Kasean Pryor would also miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL he suffered in the previous game vs. Oklahoma. Fellow starter Aboubacar Traore has missed the last five games as well due to a broken arm.

Add in the fact that Aly Khalifa and Kobe Rodgers are also redshirting the 2024-25, Louisville has just eight healthy scholarship players currently at their disposal.

Johnson came off the bench over the first two games of the season, but played a combined 39 minutes. He shot 3-of-11 from the floor for six points, and added three rebounds, five assists plus three steals.

He spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Washington, and is coming off of his best season after earning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year honors. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound shooting guard averaged 11.1 points, 2.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals over 31 games and five starts, while also shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent on three-point attempts.

The Seattle native was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, and ranked as the No. 17 combo guard and No. 132 prospect in the Class of 2022 by the 247Sports Composite. In his freshman year for the Huskies, he averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 assists over 29 appearances all off the bench.

(Photo of Koren Johnson: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X