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Finger injury forces one of Michigan’s newcomers to sit out summer trip to Italy

Wofford v Michigan

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 20: Head coach John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines reacts in the 1h against the Wofford Terriers during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 20, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)

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With Glenn Robinson III and Nik Stauskas among the four members of the Michigan rotation having moved on following a season in which the Wolverines won the Big Ten regular season title and reached the Elite Eight, a summer trip to Italy comes as just the right time. Head coach John Beilein and his assistants will be able to evaluate the returnees and newcomers in game action, with the program leaving the States on August 15.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines 6-foot-9 freshman forward D.J. Wilson will only be a spectator in Italy, as it was announced Wednesday afternoon that he’ll be out for 4-6 weeks following surgery to repair the pinky finger on his right hand.

“This is an unfortunate injury for D.J.,” Beilein said in the release. “However, we have the best training and medical staff here at U-M, so we know he is in good hands. We anticipate a speedy recovery so D.J. will be back and at 100 percent when we start our September workouts.”

With Robinson, Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford (graduate transfer to Florida) all having moved on, the play of the front court is something many will keep track of while the Wolverines are in Italy. Heading into the 2014-15 season Michigan has just one upperclassman in its front court and that’s senior Max Bielfeldt, who played just 4.7 minutes per game (19 appearances) last season.

Wilson is expected to compete for playing time alongside the likes of redshirt freshman Mark Donnal and classmates Ricky Doyle and Kameron Chatman (who’s listed as a guard/forward by the school). It goes without saying that the opportunity to see Wilson in game action would have been a positive for Beilein and his staff, but the good news is that they expect him to be ready for workouts ahead of the start of practice.

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