Gators F Erik Murphy could be back next week

Despite what first appeared to be a serious knee injury, Florida Gators junior forward Erik Murphy could be back in action as soon as next week, head coach Billy Donovan told CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman on Wednesday.

“The meniscus tear was from when he hurt it his sophomore year in high school,” Donovan said. “It looks like this was just a bone bruise.”

Donovan said the hope is that Murphy is back on the court in “a week to 10 days,” putting him in line to return when Florida hosts Arizona on Dec. 7.

This is great news for the Gators, a team thin in the frontcourt and in desperate need of Murphy’s size despite consecutive blowout victories in his absence.

In the interim, sophomore F Will Yeguete has filled in and played admirably well, picking up his first career double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds during his second start of the season on Monday.

Yeguete would return to the bench as the primary frontcourt reserve but would likely see increased minutes due to the impact he has had in Murphy’s stead.