:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58440263/usa_today_10561011.0.jpg)
In the closing minutes of Tuesday night’s Villanova-Providence game, Phil Booth left early and headed into the locker room with what appeared to be a hand or wrist injury.
The morning after, his injury was announced and diagnosed as a fractured right hand. The school announced that he would be out indefinitely.
“All of us are disappointed for Phil,” said Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright in a statement announcing the news. “He is one of our captains and the respect for him among his teammates is off the charts. Phil is as mentally tough a player as we have had in our program. We know he’ll come back better and stronger from this.”
Booth is the third Wildcat to go down with a similar injury this season. Freshmen Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels injured their hands in practice. Samuels is still out, while Gillespie is back in action and will now likely see an uptick in minutes.
As for Booth, this is another unfortunate battle with the injury bug, as he played in just three games last season before succumbing to plaguing knee issues.
This season, Booth has started in all 20 games for the ‘Cats, averaging 11.6 points per game and shooting 43.0 percent from deep. He ranks second in the Big East, right behind teammate Jalen Brunson, boasting a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.