Auburn sophomore center Matthew Atewe is out indefinitely due to a reoccurring stress fracture in his left leg, head coach Bruce Pearl announced Wednesday.
Atewe reinjured the leg during last Friday's exhibition opener against West Alabama, though the initial injury was suffered last season.
"Matt reinjured the same leg," Pearl said. "We're pretty sure he played on a stress fracture last year so we shut him down, inserted that rod into his leg and hoped that he would not break it again."
Despite consulting with Dr. James Andrews to examine the injury, Pearl said it was too soon to give a timetable for the sophomore's return.
"When a kid has an injury, you want to give the doctors, the trainers and the student-athlete enough of an opportunity to look at what they've got and decide what the best course is," Pearl said. "Sometimes it just doesn't happen right away."
Pearl said he's never felt Atewe was quite 100 percent following his injury last season and at times saw him favoring his right shin as well.
The injury has left Atewe "discouraged" after a long offseason of rehabilitation, according to Pearl.
Pearl's attention has now turned remedying the Tigers' depth issues.
"We were already undersized going into the year and with losing Matt, it puts us down to nine scholarship players," Pearl said.
The lost production of Atewe will now fall to six-foot-six big man Cinmeon Bowers, who will likely be surrounded by a four-guard lineup during most games this season.
The added responsibilities come with added pressure, as Pearl expects opponents to target Bowers and force him into foul trouble.
"You know teams are going to go at him and try to get him in foul trouble," Pearl said. "He's got to be able to play through that."
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