Michigan State announced Thursday that junior forward, Branden Dawson, will be out for four to five weeks with a broken hand.

Dawson will undergo surgery this evening on his right hand after breaking it by slamming it on a table during a film session.

“It’ll be fine,” Dawson said during a press conference Thursday. “I was out with an ACL injury (his freshman) year and I came back from it.”

If the surgery goes according to plan, he could be back as early as Feb. 23 when MSU travels to Ann Arbor to face-off against the University of Michigan. However, he will certainly miss Saturday night’s matchup against the Wolverines at home.

The incident is the latest in a string of injuries and illnesses that have plagued the Spartans this season.

Senior forward Adreian Payne has already missed four games on a sprained right foot with a strong chance of him missing Saturday’s game as well. Matt Costello missed four games in December with mononucleosis; Travis Trice was absent from two games this season, one for an infected blister and another because of an illness; and Gary Harris missed three games with an ankle injury.

The Spartans and Wolverines matchup tips off at the Breslin Center at 7 p.m. Game coverage will air on ESPN.

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Nathaniel Gaynor is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports.

Photos: David Defever/Impact Sports

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