The news isn’t great, but could be worse for Western Kentucky freshman guard Julius Thedford.

The Memphis native dislocated his right kneecap in Saturday’s 71-57 road loss at Middle Tennessee, a gruesome injury that left his teammates visibly upset in the aftermath.

WKU men’s basketball coach Hank Plona confirmed the injury during Monday’s news conference, but isn’t ruling out the talented guard for the rest of the season.

“I guess the results are as positive as they can be, which obviously shows that ligament tear,” Plona said. “But there’s no additional damage – I guess they worried about bone fragments that (can) get shook loose when that happens and there’s no signs of that.

“… There’s no surgery or anything needed, it’s just rehabilitation from here. He’s certainly out for a little bit. I guess these things they say can last anywhere from a week or two to a month or two. I guess we’re hoping Julius can be back in about a month I would say as a random guess.”

Thedford, a Memphis native, has been an impact addition to the WKU roster this season. The 6-foot-4 guard has appeared in every game this season so far, starting six times in 18 games. He ranks third on the team in scoring a 12.4 points per outing and second in made 3-pointers (30).

“In my opinion, Julius has had a great year,” Plona said. “He’s an important part of our team. His kind of youthful energy is something that gets us going. I thought while having a great year, he was on the verge of taking another jump and another step forward. So it’s definitely a tough one for us. At the same time, it is all part of it and we’ll continue to work hard and continue to move forward.”

Plona also provided an update on injured forward Babacar Faye, who got positive news last week when a follow-up MRI on his knee showed surgery won’t be necessary. Faye, second on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.8 rebounds per game) hasn’t played since Dec. 14 when he injured his right knee in the win against Murray State at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Avoiding surgery gives Faye a chance to return this season, but it’s still uncertain whether the 6-8 senior from Saly, Senegal, will be healthy soon enough to play again this season or will potentially opt for a medical redshirt year.

“We’ll see when he’s completely healthy to play,” Plona said. “He’s not running or jumping or sprinting or anything like that yet. I think we’re probably looking at another three or four weeks. We’ll evaluate that day by day, week by week.”

The injury to Thedford coupled with Faye’s lingering injury are just the latest to impact the Hilltoppers, who came into the season with four players – redshirt forward/center Fallou Diagne, graduate senior guard Terrion Murdix, sophomore guard Teagan Moore and freshman guard Kade Unseld – all taking medical redshirt years.

Additionally, graduate senior guard Khristian Lander missed three games and redshirt senior forward/center Blaise Keita missed eight games due to injury. Both are available to play now for the Tops.

WKU will be on the road twice this week for Conference USA matchups, first at Louisiana Tech on Thursday followed by a trip to Texas to face Sam Houston State on Saturday.

“If we go into a game thinking woe is us or sorry for us, we’re not going to succeed,” Plona said. “I don’t mean to minimize the two of them, they’re obviously super important parts of our team. I know there’s interest. I know we’re getting hit by an injury bug at a level I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced. I know all these things exist. The guys that are healthy need to focus on Louisiana Tech and try to get a win Thursday night.”