Injured Auburn center Austin Wiley may return for the Tigers' next game.
With Auburn set to face Florida on Tuesday inside Auburn Arena (8 p.m. CST), Wiley returned to practice Sunday. Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl said Wiley will be limited in practice on Monday, as well.
The 6-foot-11 center has missed five straight games with a lower right leg injury suffered in practice before Auburn's loss to Kentucky on Jan. 19.
“Austin [Wiley] practiced yesterday," Pearl said. "We did not go very hard yesterday. Again, three games in six days. We will practice again today live and Austin [Wiley] will practice today. How much he practices is to be determined. There is a chance he could play some tomorrow.”
In Wiley's absence Auburn went 2-3. The Tigers lost three straight to Kentucky, South Carolina and Miss State before beating Missouri and Alabama last week. The losing streak dropped the Tigers out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 22 weeks. They remained unranked in Monday's poll.
"We're gonna be on the cautious side," Pearl said of Wiley's status after the win over Alabama. "We're not going to play him until he's absolutely ready."
Wiley averages 10.8 points per game this season, good for third on the team. His 6.1 rebounds per game ties for the team lead and his 1.9 shots blocked per game leads Auburn.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
