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Report: Adreian Payne to miss next two Michigan State games

Adreian Payne

Injuries have been an unfortunately stable presence in No. 7 Michigan State’s season. A noticeable injury in recent weeks has been 6-foot-10 senior forward Adreian Payne, who has been sidelined, wearing a boot on his foot, for the past five games.

Expect that number to rise to at least seven games, according to a report from Andy Katz of ESPN on Tuesday afternoon. Michigan State Tom Izzo has ruled his senior forward out for the next two games, meaning Payne will be in street clothes for Tuesday night’s top-15 showdown against Iowa and a non-conference matchup against Georgetown on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Izzo also announced that Payne, the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder at 16.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, could return to action against Penn State on Feb. 6 in East Lansing. Three days after hosting the Nittany Lions, the Spartans go head-to-head with No. 14 Wisconsin inside the Kohl Center.

With Payne out, Michigan State is 4-1, with the lone loss coming on Saturday against Michigan. The Spartans trail Michigan by 1/2 a game in the Big Ten Conference standings, ahead of Iowa by a 1 1/2 games.

Follow @terrence_payne