Miles Bridges “Very, Very, Very Doubtful” for Big Ten Opener

It looks like Michigan State will once again be without star forward Miles Bridges.

In his weekly press conference today, Tom Izzo said Bridges, who is working his way back from a high ankle sprain, is “very, very, very doubtful” for Tuesday night’s Big Ten regular season opener at Minnesota (9pm, ESPN2).

Bridges is leading the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg) and his absence has caused MSU some major headaches when it comes to defending opposing bigs. With players like Amir Coffey (6’8” — 11.9 ppg) Eric Curry (6’9” — 6.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Reggie Lynch (6’10” — 8.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) on the roster, Minnesota will present another major challenge in that area.

Per the Freep’s Chris Solari, Bridges has been doing some shooting, but no running yet and Izzo will not rush him back, even if it means struggling to match up with those Minnesota bigs...

“We’re going to err on the side of safety a little bit more than normal so that it’s not a lingering effect,” Izzo said.

Izzo also provided an injury update on backup point guard Tum Tum Nairn

Izzo also said junior point guard Tum Tum Nairn is battling stiffness in the arch of his left foot and has been wearing a boot similar to Bridges’ as a precaution, but that Nairn has been working out in full in practice.

Tum Tum’s boot was originally spotted by Solari in a photo from Friday night when Nairn accompanied Izzo to the Pistons-Warriors game at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

MSU fans hope Bridges and Nairn will be 100% healthy very, very, very soon.