Illini wing Andrej Stojakovic suffers a knee sprain

As reported by Scott Richey from the News-Gazette, Illini wing Andrej Stojakovic is currently sidelined from team activities with a knee sprain. Stojakovic was a premier addition for the Illini in the transfer portal this offseason and is expected to play a sizeable role. The former McDonald’s All-American put up 17.9 points per game as a sophomore at Cal last year and is one of the early picks to lead the Illini in scoring this season. There is no timetable announced yet for Stojakovic’s return; however, the injury seems relatively fresh given that recent videos have surfaced of Illini practices. Depending on the severity of the sprain, Stojakovic could be out for a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

Given how important Stojakovic is to this roster, I expect the Illini to take heavy caution in bringing him back. Illinois is just a few weeks out from its first official practice on September 22. They are approximately six weeks away from their first exhibition game vs Illinois State on October 19th.

The impact of Stojakovic’s injury

Again, we do not know the severity of the injury. Looking back, former Illini Marcus Domask missed a portion of his offseason prior to his year in Champaign with a hamstring injury. However, the Illini cannot afford injuries to their starters. Forward Ty Rodgers incurred a significant knee injury early on in the summer and is likely to miss most, if not the entire, 2025-2026 season. Without Rodgers, the current forwards on the team, particularly Andrej Stojakovic, will hold a lot of responsibility. Behind Stojakovic, Illinois will need guys like Ben Humrichous and David Mirkovic to really step up their games.

Hopefully, Stojakovic’s injury is just a small blip, as they will need him if they expect to compete in the Big Ten.

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