Injury puts UVa. center on shelf for six weeks

Senior center Assane Sene (Saint-Louis, Senegal) of the Virginia men’s basketball team is expected to be out approximately six weeks after undergoing surgery on his right ankle Friday (Jan. 20).

The 7-0 Sene injured the ankle late in the first half of the Cavaliers’ victory over Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday (Jan. 19). X-rays on Friday showed a fracture and Sene underwent surgery.

“Assane is a senior and an integral part of our team,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. “In all my years of coaching, he is one of the most team-first players I’ve been around. I know he’ll do whatever he can from a rehabilitation standpoint to try and return to action before the end of the season.”

Sene has started all 17 games for Virginia this season. He is averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds a game and leads the team in blocked shots with 15. He is tied for sixth on Virginia’s career list for blocked shots with 108.