CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Key reserve power forward Keith Stone did not play in Tuesday’s loss at No. 13 Louisville and has been ruled out indefinitely with a left knee injury.

It is the same knee he had surgery on last year to repair a torn ACL, forcing him to miss the final three months of the season at Florida and the first eight games of this season.

“He tweaked his knee, a knee that he injured as a player at Florida, and injured it again,” head coach Jim Larranaga. “He had surgery (Tuesday) morning.”

Miami was 5-1 with Stone in the lineup.

“Having him sub for Sam and Rodney has made a huge difference,” Larranaga said prior to Stone being ruled out. “It gives them quality rest and we have a veteran out there helping us both defensively, rebounding, and scoring the ball.”

Stone averaged 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17.7 minutes. He shot 50 percent from the field and has the highest offensive rating on the team at 124.9 according to Kenpom.com. His most productive game came in a 78-77 win over Temple on Dec. 17 when he scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes. He played a season-high 26 minutes in a win at Clemson on Dec. 31 and pulled down a season-high nine rebounds.

Teammates also praised the addition of Stone to provide steady play off the bench.

“We need a little more productivity off the bench and I think Keith Stone is a being a big part of that,” senior guard Dejan Vasiljevic said prior to the Duke game last week. “We need the freshmen to lock in and things can happen.”

The staff had been monitoring Stone’s minutes in games and limiting his time in practices before ruling him out indefinitely shortly before game time against Louisville, where they lost 74-58. Stone played 19 minutes in a loss to No. 2 Duke on Saturday.

Freshman Anthony Walker, who is averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.8 minutes, will assume Stone’s role as the top frontcourt player off the bench. Walker did not score or have a rebound in five minutes against Louisville.

“One of the things about earlier in the season was the sub in the frontcourt was a freshman and although Anthony Walker is a very very gifted athlete, he is very inexperienced when it comes to basketball only playing for four years,” Larranaga said. “You take a guy like Keith Stone, who not only has played basketball a lot longer, he’s played college basketball for four years.”

Freshman guard Isaiah Wong also looks to be an option off the bench for Stone, playing in a season-high 26 minutes with the Hurricanes going with a four-guard lineup.

Miami (9-5, 1-3 ACC) hosts Pittsburgh (10-4, 1-2) on Jan. 12. The Panthers play at North Carolina (8-6, 1-2) Wednesday (7:00 p.m., ACC Network) before traveling to Miami.

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