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Illinois Can’t Let Kylan Boswell’s Injury Derail Them

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Kaleb Kraus | Last updated Jan 24, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Another season for Illinois, where they find themselves with a bump in the road. During practice, no less, the Illinois Fighting Illini’s starting point guard, Kylan Boswell, suffered an injury. Tell me if you have heard it before. Illinois will have to grind on without its most experienced floor leader.

That hasn’t always been a good thing for the Illini, as they have seen this situation before.

Illinois Can’t Let Kylan Boswell’s Injury Derail Them

For what feels like the third-year in a row, Illinois will have to change its rotation. The team has already played one game without Boswell, and thankfully, it was a struggling Maryland, but things are only going to get tougher with a road trip to Purdue ahead.

Boswell is expected to be out for at least a month with a right-hand fracture. Obviously, the season is still on track for Illinois, as they are right in the thick of the Big Ten race, but like prior seasons, their hopes of winning the Big Ten in the regular season have been derailed by similar situations.

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Same Song And Dance

Illinois was in this very situation in 2024-25, where they were amongst the elite in the Big Ten, when injuries started hurting the team. With Tomislav Ivisic and All-Big Ten performer Kasparas Jakucionis both missing time, the Illini slipped from near the top to a 7th-place finish in the Big Ten, and did not make it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Time and time again, it appears that an injury here or there has limited the Illini’s chances. Especially thinking about this injury for Boswell. He’s going to miss arguably the hardest stretch of the campaign for Illinois.

Beyond visiting Purdue, the Illini also have road trips to Nebraska and Michigan State, not to mention a West Coast road trip to USC and UCLA. Along with a home clash with the top-five-ranked Michigan all within the period, Kylan is out. That isn’t promising for an Illini-team who has been red-hot for over a month now.

Chance For Others To Breakout

With Boswell out, it gives some others a chance to shine. Obviously, Illinois has to turn to Brandon Lee and Mihailo Petrovic to get their shooters the ball. The main question for them will be whether they can handle it. In the time Petrovic has played this season, he’s looked overwhelmed.

Of the two, Mihailo has to be the one who steps up the most. If he can’t score the ball, the best thing he can bring is setting up his teammates. If he can set up opportunities for Keaton Wagler and the bigs, Illinois can survive. Not to mention, this team needs as many leaders on the court as they can get. Even if they get the best from Lee and Petrovic, both have had injuries of their own that they have gone through earlier in the season.

The more I think about it, this group might be one more guard injury away from a catastrophic meltdown. Whatever happens, the Boswell injury could easily lead to the Illini’s season getting derailed for the second-year in a row.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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