Pat Kelsey Provides Injury Updates on Aboubacar Traore, Koren Johnson

The two Cardinals have missed the last five games with their own respective injuries.

Louisville Cardinals forward Aboubacar Traore (25) looks to pass around Spalding University's Caden Bradford (0) at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. / Matt Stone/Courier Journal/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kasean Pryor wasn't the only player than the Louisville men's basketball program gave an injury update on.

Speaking to the media for his pregame press conference ahead of the Cardinals' matchup with Ole Miss on Tuesday, head coach Pat Kelsey provided updates on both Aboubacar "Kader" Traore and Koren Johnson. Both players have missed the last five games.

Traore suffered a broken left arm in practice between Louisville's games vs. Tennessee and Bellarmine, and it was originally announced that he would miss "multiple weeks." Now, it sounds like Kelsey is hopeful that Traore could return sometime around late December/early January.

"Kader fractured his arm, so he's in a cast," Kelsey said. "We're hoping six weeks total, probably. He's a couple weeks out from the injury, so we're hoping in the next month or so, he'll be cleared to play."

With Johnson, his timeline for return from an unspecified shoulder injury is a little more murky. Kelsey said that he has already had shoulder examined, but will be seeing a specialist later this week to determine his prognosis.

"Koren's shoulder, he's had it examined by some doctors," he said. "He's going to see one more specialist later this week, and we'll have a better idea on his status moving forward after that."

Traore started Louisville's first two games of the season, playing 37 combined minutes vs. Morehead State and Tennessee. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound wing shot 1-of-6 from the field and went 1-of-2 from the free throw line for three points, grabbed 10 rebounds, tallied four assists and blocked three shots.

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

Joining Louisville from Long Beach State this past offseason, Traore was one of the best players in the Big West Conference last season. Playing in all 36 games with 31 starts, he put up 12.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, a team-best 4.5 assists, a team-best 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, while also shooting 51.7 percent from the floor.

Not only did Traore earn First-Team All-Big West honors last season, he was also named the conference's Best Hustle Player. He also won the Big West Tournament MVP after averaging 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game to help the Beach win the conference tournament and clinch their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012.

A native of Côte D’Ivoire in West Africa, Traore has had a productive three-year career at Long Beach State. In 101 appearances and 88 games, he has totaled 1,033 points, 853 rebounds and 318 assists.

As for Johnson, 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 Aboubacar Traore: Matt Stone - Courier Journal/USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via 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