LSU junior tennis player Jordan Daigle will play the waiting game for an indefinite period this fall after suffering a stomach injury in September. He said the injury got progressively worse, forcing him to sit out for an unspecified amount of time.
LSU coach Jeff Brown said the injury is a result of Daigle’s body not being used to the serving motion and is common among players who start mass play after coming off a break.
Daigle suffered the same injury last year, but it only lasted a few weeks. This time, he is projected to sit out two months.
“It got progressively worse during the tournament in Lafayette, and I made a bad decision playing All-American hurt,” Daigle said. “I decided the day before that I was going to try to play just because it’s [Boris Arias’] senior year ,and I wanted to play doubles and not leave him stranded over there. But it probably wasn’t the smartest idea health wise.”
The No. 4 ranked doubles team will not be able to practice together for at least a month, but after having had a good start and winning the consolation bracket at the ITA/Oracle Masters in Malibu in September, Arias, Daigle and Brown said they are confident the injury won’t affect their chemistry.
“I think they have played together enough that it’s kind of like riding a bike,” Brown said. “The next time they’ll play together it will be like old school for them. They know each other well and have had a lot of success, so they’ll be fine once they get back in form.”
Daigle had to receive a cortisone injection in his wrist the day he left for the All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, earlier in October. He is in the middle of the rehabilitation process for his abdomen and wrist injuries and is patiently waiting for the
injuries to heal.
Daigle said rehab includes meeting with trainers five days a week and doing light weight lifting exercises. Daigle said his abs and wrist are already feeling better, but he is focused on waiting until he is fully healed to resume his normal training schedule.
Daigle will miss the LSU Invitational in November but said the amount of rest he gets might actually benefit him for the upcoming spring tournaments, when the schedule is much tighter.
“He should be able to play at some time in the fall,” Brown said. “He hasn’t had the healthiest of careers, but he’s been able to manage it and get to a very good level. So we’re hopeful that he’s able to do the same thing with this one. We just have to manage it as best as we can and taking the right steps to have him 100 percent in the spring.”