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Branden Dawson will miss at least two games with fractured wrist

Branden Dawson will miss at least two games with fractured wrist

Considering the pain Branden Dawson appeared to be in after his hard fall Wednesday night against Eastern Michigan, the diagnosis doesn't seem as dire as it could have been.

Tests revealed the Michigan State senior suffered a stable, non-displaced fracture to his left wrist, the school announced Thursday night. He will miss at least the Spartans' next two games against Texas Southern and the Citadel but could return in time for Michigan State's Big Ten opener against Maryland on Dec. 30.

"I feel bad for Branden, as he's been practicing so well over the last few weeks," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said in a school-released statement. "But we also feel a bit fortunate when you look at the video from the game; it certainly could have been worse."

Dawson suffered the injury when he fell hard to the floor attempting a tip dunk and braced the impact to his tailbone with his left wrist. He stood up wincing and shaking his wrist before retreating to the locker room where trainers wrapped the injury in ice.

Michigan State (8-3) ought to be able to survive without Dawson in its next two games, but the Spartans will miss him dearly if he can't return in time for the start of Big Ten play. Dawson, Michigan State's top returning player from last year's Elite Eight team, is averaging 11.6 points per game and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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