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Matt Costello back to practice for Michigan State, questionable for start of Big Ten play

Matt Costello

On Saturday, Michigan State reinserted freshman forward Kenny Kaminski into the lineup, missing the previous three games with a suspension, in the Spartans’ 101-48 win over New Orleans.

The fifth-ranked Spartans can get more help to the frontline as sophomore forward Matt Costello is back to practicing with the team. The 6-foot-9 Costello has not played since Michigan State’s home loss to North Carolina on Dec. 4 with what MLive.com reports as a case of mononucleosis.

While he has returned to practice this week, his return to the floor has yet to be determined.

“We’ll be very cautious with him,” Izzo said. “It depends on another blood test and this and that. He’s been given the go-ahead to go up and down (run the full length of the court), almost none in a lot of contact. So we’re not having him do much contact.”

Michigan State kicks off league play on the road against Penn State and Indiana. Both those games might also see Costello sidelined. Costello is averaging 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. Michigan State hasn’t played at full strength for the majority of the month with Keith Appling, Branden Dawson, Gary Harris and Adreian Payne all battling injuries at one point or another, while Kaminksi’s suspension also cut into the depth.

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