CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- For the second straight year sophomore power forward Deng Gak's season will end because of a knee injury.

After being limited to eight games last season due to a left knee injury, Gak has been ruled out for the season after playing in seven games this season due to a right knee injury sustained in practice.

"It's just very disappointing both for him and for the team," head coach Jim Larranaga said. "Deng was a very valuable sub. He's improving. He's getting bigger and stronger. The strange part about is the injury is identical to the one he had last year except on the other knee."

Gak redshirted his first year at Miami in 2017-18 after arriving at Miami from Blair (N.J.) Academy as a four-star recruit. He could potentially receive a medical waiver to get a year back of eligibility back since each of the last two seasons were cut short of the 30-percent limit of games played on the schedule per NCAA rules.

VIP Article: PF Deng Gak is back, ready for the season

Gak, who was at Miami's practice on Thursday in warmups, averaged 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes as a reserve this season. The loss of Gak coincided with the addition of Keith Stone in the frontcourt as Stone made his season debut against Illinois, which was the first game Gak missed.

"I think Keith Stone is a huge plus for us," Larranaga said. "He's 6-9, weighs 250, he can shoot the 3, he's good in and around the basket, he's a good defender, he's a solid rebounder, all of the areas we need help him, he can provide."

With the loss of Gak and addition of Stone, it gives Miami nine available players each game although the rotation could be trimmed to eight at times.

"Eight or nine, for sure eight, with our freshmen guards and Keith and then we're hopeful Anthony Walker will continue making progress," Larranaga said. "Anthony is an extremely gifted athlete, but he's a very inexperienced athlete and his level of effort needs to dramatically improve under game conditions."

Miami (5-3) hosts Alabama A&M (2-5) on Saturday (2:00 p.m., ACC Network).

Christopher Stock has covered the Miami Hurricanes since 2003 and can be reached by e-mail at stock@insidetheu.com and on Twitter @InsideTheU.