Florida Gators basketball received some good news Saturday when an MRI revealed that redshirt junior guard Eli Carter, who hurt himself late in practice on Thursday, has suffered a mid-foot sprain and not a dreaded Lisfranc injury.

The school announced the test results Saturday evening.

The second Florida starter dealing with an injury already this season, Carter missed Friday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe and could be seen on the bench with a big boot on his foot. Head coach Billy Donovan announced after the game that X-rays on Carter’s foot were negative for a break, but team doctors wanted to do an MRI to fully diagnose the issue.

“They’re concerned with a Lisfranc, whatever her name is or his name is, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of Lisfranc,” said Donovan. “They want to look in to, I think, rule that out, or it’s just a mid-foot sprain. If it’s [a Lisfranc], from what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty extensive time he’s going to be off. And if it’s the other one, then they’re hoping 8-10 days. … We’re just hoping that it’s not the other thing.”



A Lisfranc, which Carter avoided here, is a serious injury to the region of the midfoot that connects it with the forefoot and not only helps stabilize the entire foot but also preserves the arch. There is a Listfranc joint that can be fractured and a Listfranc ligament that can be torn. It is a rare injury suffered by football players and even less common for basketball players as it usually occurs when a foot is planted and stuck in the ground and then gets severely twisted by momentum or a hit. The injury can keep an athlete out for 2-4 months.

Instead, Carter is expected to miss about a week of action. He is currently the Gators’ second-leading scorer with 14.5 points per game and had one of the most efficient shooting performances in school history in Florida’s one-point loss to Miami on Monday.

Whether Carter will be available for the upcoming 2014 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas remains to be seen.

Florida has also yet to determine whether redshirt junior Dorian Finney-Smith will travel with the team. Finney-Smith has been cleared to play but is dealing with two hairline fractures in his non-shooting hand. Donovan also noted Friday that he told Finney-Smith not to attend practice or games while rehabilitating in order to focus on academics.