Better now than in the middle of the season, I suppose. Still tough news for a guy who busted his ass all offseason to be in a position to be voted captain by his teammates.

Here’s the release from U of L:

University of Louisville forward Malik Williams will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks after suffering a broken bone in his right foot in practice on Friday.

Elected as one of three captains for the Cardinals this year, Williams had a screw inserted into his fifth metatarsal Monday by Dr. John Ellis at Norton’s Hospital in Louisville. The recovery time is expected to be 6-8 weeks for Williams, a 6-11, 245-pound junior forward from Ft. Wayne, Ind.

Williams started the last 20 games last season while producing four double-doubles. He was third on the team in rebounding and 19th in the ACC, averaging 6.1 rebounds and 7.7 points. Williams blocked a shot in 26 of 34 games as a sophomore and ranked 11th in the ACC in blocked shots (41 total, 1.2 average). He grabbed a career-best 13 boards against both North Carolina and Notre Dame. Williams averaged 9.8 points and 8.4 rebounds over the last five games of last season.