As summer workouts officially get underway for Illini basketball, they’ve already been dealt a significant blow.

Junior forward Ty Rodgers will be out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury last week while playing in a pickup game back in his hometown, according to head coach Brad Underwood. The injury will require surgery “to do some repairs,” Underwood said on Monday.

“We’ll know more as that process goes on,” Underwood said. “He’s right now still in Michigan and going through some of that.”

After electing to redshirt last season, Rodgers announced his return to Illinois in April, foregoing any opportunity to enter the transfer portal. He started all 38 games for the Illini’s Elite Eight team in 2023-24, averaging 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Underwood didn’t provide specifics on what the exact injury is nor a timeline for Rodgers’ return, but it’s safe to assume that knee surgery of any kind puts Rodgers’ status for the beginning of the season in November in serious jeopardy and perhaps could extend his absence well into the winter.

“It’s an injury that will require some time away,” Underwood said.

Entering his fourth season in the orange and blue — the most of anybody on next season’s Illini roster — Rodgers was expected to be one of the primary leaders on a squad made up of players from all over. As one of six returning pieces, and the one by far the most familiar with Underwood and the Illini program, the 6-foot-6 redshirt junior was in line for a sizable role both on and off the court.

“Ty’s a voice that even last year during his redshirt year, was very dominant,” Underwood said. “We’ll see where the process takes us…unfortunately injuries are part of it.”

As far as who will be tasked with filling the Rodgers void for however long the injury keeps him out, Underwood singled out freshmen Brandon Lee and Keaton Wagler as guys who will likely be given more opportunity than originally anticipated.

With Rodgers comfortably expected to play significant minutes at both guard and forward spots, the Illini will be forced to dig deeper into their depth chart and the start of summer workouts will likely provide the chance for those freshmen, as well as players such as Jake Davis and Jason Jakstys whose roles would’ve otherwise been uncertain, to challenge for bigger slices of the rotation.

When asked if losing Rodgers could cause the Illini to add another player to fill their remaining open roster spot, Underwood indicated that the injury doesn’t necessarily increase his staff’s urgency to do so.

“We’ll see. We’re not just going to fill it to fill it,” Underwood said. “We’ve never stopped, truthfully, looking, but we’re not going to be reckless in terms of what we do. We’re just going to make sure it’s the right fit if there is one.”