A few notable injury updates in boys’ hoops:

Estan Tyler, Senior guard, St. Paul Johnson: Suffered a high ankle sprain toward the end of a Jan. 31 game against St. Paul Humboldt. The injury occurred after Tyler was undercut by another player while jumping. According to Governors head coach Vern Simmons, Tyler is going through treatment and continuing to get more and more flexibility. Simmons said he expects Tyler to be ready to play on Tuesday when Johnson hosts St. Paul Harding.

Zach Lofton, Senior guard, Columbia Heights: The metro’s leading scorer was injured last Thursday against Minneapols North when his right knee opened up after crashing into a hinge on the wall behind the basket. Though the injury did not require surgery and an MRI on his knee was negative, Lofton had 14 surgical sutures placed in the knee and has it immobilized. The date of his return has been undetermined, but doctor’s project Lofton will have the sutures in place for 7 to 14 days. Once the wound has healed, Lofton will have the sutures removed and will then begin rehab to regain mobility in the knee. Though rumors have been floating around that it will take approximately three to four weeks for Lofton to return to uniform, coach Willie Braziel said it will depend a lot on how Lofton’s knee heals and how quickly he can get back into basketball shape.

“My rule is until I get a professional to say he can participate, Zach’s out,” Hylanders coach Willie Braziel said. With their star out, Columbia Heights lost last night to St. Louis Park. “We may take a few more on the chin with him out… but I want him to play at the next level, so I’m not going to rush him.”

James Fort, Senior center, Annandale: Fort sprained his ankle and missed two games in late January. After only one game back from injury, the 6-foot-6 center is now sick with mono and will be unavailable until the postseason. Fort, who has signed to play basketball at St. Cloud State next season, isn’t the only player Cardinals coach Skip Dolan has lost recently. Devin Kerbaugh, a 6-foot-5 senior who led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding, is out for the season with a dislocated shoulder. Dolan referred to the pair of injuries as a “big blow for the Cardinals.”