The Michigan State Spartans have big goals for this season, but things got a bit harder for them as Joshua Langford is out until January with a recurrence of the foot injury that ended his 2018-2019 campaign.
Michigan State is the preseason No. 1 tea in the country, but their path towards Tom Izzo’s second national championship just got harder. Shooting guard Joshua Langford, who missed the end of last season with a foot injury, will be out until January with a recurrence of the same injury.
Spartans’ coach Tom Izzo described the injury as a mid-foot stress reaction, and Langford will not be re-evaluated until mid-January. This is a huge blow for the Spartans since Langford was expected to be the team’s second primary scorer behind Cassius Winston, who is at his best when he is facilitating for his teammates.
Making matters worse is the fact that Langford’s backup, Kyle Ahrens, is dealing with an ankle injury. That leaves the Spartans thin at the shooting guard spot, forcing them to improvise early on with a tough early schedule that includes a showdown with Kentucky in New York on Nov. 5 as part of the Champions Classic.
For now, expect some combination of sophomore Aaron Henry and freshman guard Rocket Watts to absorb the minutes that are opened with Langford’s injury. Ahrens will be expected to assume most of the work once he is over his ankle injury, but the Spartans are left hoping that Langford will be able to contribute in the second half.
The Spartans’ lofty preseason rankings were built on the expectation that Langford would be healthy and scoring in bunches, so perhaps it is time to re-evaluate Michigan State’s ultimate upside knowing he is out for half the season. There is still plenty of talent in East Lansing to live up to the hype, but Izzo’s job just got more difficult.
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