Auburn’s fear became a reality Monday afternoon as Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl announced that Horace Spencer will miss the remainder of the season. Spencer will undergo shoulder surgery on Thursday.
“Health has been an issue now for Horace,” Pearl said. “After his first year he was out four months with a knee. He’s going to be out four months with a shoulder. That’s though. You need that offseason and he didn’t have that last season. When we were expecting, and we should, what’s Horace going to be like as a sophomore? He had no chance to train.”
Spencer injured his left shoulder on Jan. 31 in Auburn’s 87-77 loss to Tennessee.
“We miss the stability and we miss his toughness and we miss our brother,” Pearl said.
The 6-foot-8 sophomore started 12 games for Auburn and was averaging 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He leads the Tigers with 28 blocked shots.
“Horace is one of our toughest players and he’s a fighter and he’s not afraid. He’s a really good teammate,” Pearl said. “Horace has got a little bit of mother hen and he’s got a little of big brother in him. He’s a bit of a protector.”
Auburn (16-9, 5-7) is 2-1 since Spencer’s injury, but the Tigers will face one of its biggest tests of the season Tuesday night when they will welcome No. 15 Florida (20-5, 10-2) to Auburn Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST, and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
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