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Illinois coach John Groce offers no update on Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby

Illinois v Michigan

Getty Images

Getty Images

Illinois has been playing with a shortened back court for the last month, as leading scorer Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby were both sidelined with injuries before the two were suspended.

During Friday’s teleconference, Illinois head coach John Groce provided no update on the status of either player heading into Saturday afternoon’s Big Ten game at Michigan State.

“They’re indefinitely suspended at this time,” was the response Groce used to answer questions regarding Rice and Cosby, according to Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune.

Rice, the senior lead guard averaging 17.2 points per game, as been out since early January after breaking bone in his left hand during practice. The injury bug bit the Fighting Illini later in the month when Cosby was sidelined several weeks with a retinal tear in his left eye. The perimeter duo was suspended last Saturday for a violation of team rules. Neither player appeared in wins over Penn State and Rutgers this past week.

Since being injured both Rice and Cosby have returned to practice.

“At times we’ll pull them out here or there for different things,” Groce said, according to the Tribune. “Both guys are on track. From a medical perspective they look great. More than anything (it’s) trying to keep their cardio up.”

Illinois takes on Michigan State at noon.

Follow @terrence_payne