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Michael Porter Jr., the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2017 class (No. 1 before Marvin Bagley reclassified), has officially been cleared for basketball activities.
Timely enough, this comes just two days before Porter and the Missouri Tigers come to Rupp Arena for their second matchup of the season with Kentucky.
Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr. has been fully cleared for all basketball activities, per a source.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 22, 2018
Sources: Michael Porter Jr. has been cleared to play by his doctors. We may see him in action this Saturday. #Mizzou
— Brett McMurphy (@BMcMurphyNCAA) February 22, 2018
Porter played just two minutes in the season opener before going down with a back injury that led to a microdiscectomy surgery of his L3-L4 spinal discs.
Projected to be the star in all of college basketball, Missouri was expected to finish near the top of the SEC before Porter hobbled off of the court.
The Tigers defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 69-60 in their first matchup on February 3rd, but they have struggled at times and currently sit in the middle of the SEC pack (along with Kentucky) with a conference record of 8-7 (18-10 overall).
How much he will be able to play this Saturday remains to be seen, but any time on the floor at all will definitely give Missouri a boost. A player of that caliber can make an immediate impact on any game, but there is always the chance that team chemistry could take a hit.
The Wildcats and the Tigers are set to tip off at 8:15 p.m. EDT in Lexington. If you can’t make it out to Rupp, you can watch on ESPN and follow along here on the game thread at A Sea of Blue.