Michigan State guard Joshua Langford will miss the rest of the 2018-19 season due to an ankle injury that he sustained at the end of the 2018 calendar year. The Spartans and coach Tom Izzo released a statement on Wednesday officially ruling out the captain for the remainder of the campaign.
"It's with great sadness that I have to announce that after numerous studies, rehabilitation and an attempt at return, it has been determined that Josh will miss the remainder of the season," Izzo said. "Josh has a stress injury that we caught fairly early and we had hoped that, with treatment and rest, he would recover. He has not, and will likely need surgery to prevent problems in the future."
Langford sustained the injury against Northern Illinois in an 88-60 win for the Spartans on Dec. 29 and hasn't played since.
A three-year cog for the Spartans, Langford was averaging career-highs in minutes played (28.6), points scored (15.0), assists (2.3) and rebounds (3.6) before going down. His loss is a big one for the title-contending Spartans, though they've managed to go 7-1 without him.
With Langford officially out, look for senior Matt McQuaid and freshman Aaron Henry to continue to share minutes at the two-guard spot. McQuaid has been a huge spark, averaging 8.6 points this season, and Henry has shown flashes of becoming a reliable scorer. But the loss of Langford is undeniably a tough one to swallow for a Spartans team that, at 18-3, could use a veteran leader like him as they push for a national championship this season.
