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Kansas’ Azubuike undergoes successful surgery

Kansas v UNLV

LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 22: Udoka Azubuike #35 of the Kansas Jayhawks sits on the bench as he watches his team take on the UNLV Rebels during their game at the Thomas & Mack Center on December 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kansas won 71-53. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Kansas freshman Udoka Azubuike remains on the road to recovery.

The 7-footer had surgery Tuesday to remove the screw from the injured wrist that sidelined him for his first season in Lawrence, Jayhawks coach Bill Self told the Lawrence Journal-World.

“He’s gonna be very limited the next couple weeks,” Self said. “But then he’ll be right back into full rehab.

“He’s been doing all kinds of rehab with his wrist and he’s been doing basketball activity, but just non-contact. We don’t expect him to have contact until June, but all indications are that he is right on schedule.

“He’s gotta take a couple weeks off from doing that stuff to allow the sutures to heal and that kind of stuff. After that, then he’s back on and we’ll become more aggressive with his rehab, but he’s still non-contact until June.”

Azubuike played in 11 games, starting six, last season before damaging his wrist in practice in December and shutting down his season, watching from the bench as the Jayhawks won their 13th-straight Big 12 regular season title and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Oregon.

He averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in just under 13 minutes per game in his abbreviated freshman season. A healthy Azubuike, a top-50 player in the 2016 class, figures to have a major role this upcoming season for the Jayhawks, who will once again be favored to win the Big 12 and compete for a national title in 2017-18.