LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. was ruled out for Tuesday's marquee home game against Duke at the KFC Yum! Center, coach Pat Kelsey said Monday.
Brown, who has missed the Cardinals' past four games with a back issue, was hoping to return, but a series of minor setbacks have delayed his recovery.
"He will not play on Tuesday," Kelsey said. "He's chomping at the bit. He wants to be out there so stinking bad. You can tell. It's just been a couple disappointing setbacks as we've tried to ramp him back up."
Brown was initially eased back into practice last week, but Kelsey said the staff decided to shut him down again to allow for more rest and explore additional treatment options.
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"All the diagnostic tests, the MRIs, everything structurally is fine," Kelsey said. "But we haven't been able to get the discomfort and the spasms to settle down. We thought we were turning the corner, but, over the last several days, we've not had him do anything full speed."
Still, Kelsey was optimistic that Brown's return may not be far off.
"He's working his butt off. Nobody is spending more time in the training room," Kelsey said. "He's got a great attitude, a pep in his step. His teammates know how bad he wants to be out there. I can see him being back really soon."
Brown has been a key figure in Louisville's season, is second on the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game and leads the team in assists. During his absence, Louisville has dropped games at Tennessee and Stanford.
Louisville (11-3, 1-1 ACC) will host Duke (13-1, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
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