GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida's rebounding has been a major issue as conference play has hit full swing, but there are still no immediate answers for the Gators.

Without a trio of big men, the Gators have simply had to make do. And it doesn't sound like they're all that close to getting any of them (John Egbunu, Isaiah Stokes or Chase Johnson) back in the near future.

Originally, coach Mike White had said that the tentative goal was to get Egbunu and Stokes, both recovering from torn ACLs, back in late January.

"It's day to day (with Egbunu)," White said. "He's still not been released by (trainer) Duke (Werner) to do competitive contact stuff. One day it'll feel really good and a couple days later he'll have some swelling. The next day feel OK, the knee that he had surgery on, then a couple days later the other knee may be sore. It's just a comfort level thing right now."

Egbunu's a player with definite pro prospects if he can return to the form he was in before suffering the torn ACL last February.

So White and his staff are being cautious to avoid rushing him back too soon.

"Until he strings together a bunch of days where he feels good, Duke and I aren't going to allow him to go full go and go competive and go bone-on-bone," White said. "We're not going to put John out there. Until he's 100 percent, he's just not going to play."

Neither Egbunu nor Stokes has returned to contact work in practice.

Stokes, a true freshman, may well take a redshirt, though White hasn't definitely said anything to indicate that's the way it's headed.

But he has a ways to go before he's ready to hit the floor.

"Very, very slowly," White said of Stokes' improvement. "He's taking a few steps, but his conditioning isn't close to where it needs to be."

The news on Johnson, a freshman who has battled major concussion symptoms and illnesses throughout the season, was bit more positive.

Like Stokes, though, conversations about whether he may be able to redshirt (he played in just four games early this season) medically will likely be on the table.

"He's strung together now, I'm just guessing, eight, nine, 10 days with no symptoms," White said. "So this is the best he's been, really since we started practice. Happy for him. He's kind of bouncing around and smiling, putting on dunk contests after practice.

"We'll continue to evaluate that and see whether or not he can help this team. If he felt this way a month or two ago, it would be a no-brainer. Now we've got some decisions to make here."

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