Purdue freshman Brian Waddell will be sidelined long-term after suffering an ACL injury on Friday, Matt Painter said Monday.
Waddell was already redshirting this year.
Nevertheless, the injury will affect his development this season.
"That's what stinks," Painter said. "Since he's gotten here, he's really made strides and improved. He showed up as a good player, but he's gained more weight and gained confidence, and once you get into practices you realize you belong. That's a hard piece for freshmen: 'Do I belong here?' He's been able to see with the success he's had in our practices that he does, and that he's going to be a really good player and he's going in a great direction.
"It sets you back, but you can improve when you're not healthy, but you can't put them together. You have to get healthy, then improve. He has to put that on the shelf for a while and worry about his health, get back to 100 percent and start back up again."
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