UConn center Donovan Clingan out 3-4 weeks with foot injury

UConn sophomore Donovan Clingan will miss 3-4 weeks with an injury to a tendon in his right foot, the school announced Saturday.

Clingan suffered the injury early in the second half of the Huskies’ loss to Seton Hall on Wednesday, going back to the locker room and not returning. UConn coach Dan Hurley said after the game that Clingan had a sprained ankle, but Clingan underwent an MRI to find out the full extent of the injury.

“He didn’t have a ton of swelling, but he did have some pain,” Hurley said Friday. “He obviously wanted to go back in [on Wednesday] and then it tightened up on him. We’ll see how he feels in the morning and then get the MRI scans.”

This is the second significant foot injury Clingan has suffered in recent months after suffering a foot strain at a September practice and missing most of the preseason.

A 7-foot-2 center from Bristol, Connecticut, Clingan is ranked No. 8 in ESPN’s NBA draft rankings. He backed up star big man Adama Sanogo last season and was pegged for a breakout campaign this season as a sophomore. Clingan is averaging 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season, and had 14 points and seven boards in just 14 minutes against Seton Hall before suffering the injury. He also had 21 points and eight rebounds in a win over Gonzaga last week.

Without Clingan, Hurley will need to lean on redshirt sophomore Samson Johnson, who has shown flashes in a reserve role behind Clingan. He had 15 points and eight rebounds in a November win over Texas when Clingan was saddled with foul trouble and limited to 13 minutes.

No. 5 UConn (11-2, 1-1 in the Big East) beat St. John’s 69-65 on Saturday night in Hartford.