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Florida clears Will Yeguete to return Saturday against Alabama

Missouri Tigers v Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, FL - JANUARY 19: Forward Will Yeguete #15 of the Florida Gators points to the bench after a second half score against the Missouri Tigers January 19, 2013 at Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators won 83 - 52. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

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The Florida Gators have seen their rotation cut down recently due to the knee injury suffered by forward Will Yeguete, who is an important member of the rotation given his activity on the defensive end of the floor.

But the program received some good news on Thursday, as head coach Billy Donovan announced that doctors have cleared both Yeguete and guard Michael Frazier II (concussion) for Saturday’s game against Alabama.

Frazier suffered his injury last Saturday in a home win over Arkansas, missing Florida’s loss at Tennessee on Tuesday night as a result of the injury. And with doctors also ruling that wing Casey Prather did not suffer a concussion in a second half collision in Knoxville, the Gators looked likely to have a full rotation on Saturday.

But according to Chris Harry of gatorzone.com Frazier left practice 32 minutes into the session due to back spasms, needing to be carried off the court by assistant coach Rashon Burno and video coordinator Oliver Winterbone. According to the report trainer David Werner stated that Frazier should be OK, but back spasms can be tricky to say the least.

In regards to Yeguete (6.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg) the question just how much will he play, given the fact that he’s missed Florida’s last six games and hadn’t taken part in a full-contact practice prior to Thursday’s session.

“My expectation on him going into the game is not very high just because I haven’t seen him play,” Donovan said. “Obviously he’s got two days to practice but I would be hard-pressed to believe he’s going to be the same player before he was when he went down with his injury. It’ll probably take him some time to get back but at least he can start working to get back in shape and get back in rhythm and timing and those kinds of things.”

Alabama isn’t particularly deep inside either, as injuries earlier in the season forced head coach Anthony Grant to lean heavily upon his perimeter players. But Yeguete’s return looms large for Florida in regards to both the SEC and NCAA tournaments, as his ability defensively and on the boards will bolster a front court that features Erik Murphy and Patric Young.

Florida’s lost two of their last three games and in addition to Saturday’s contest they still have to visit Kentucky before the end of the regular season, meaning that the Gators are no lock to win the SEC as they lead both the Wildcats and Crimson Tide by a game in the standings.

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.