March 24, 2008

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Further examination of the injury sustained by sophomore center Casiem Drummond (East Orange, N.J./Bloomfield Tech) in Sunday's 84-72 second round NCAA Tournament victory over Siena has revealed a fracture of his right ankle. He is scheduled to undergo surgery to insert a screw into the ankle at Bryn Mawr Hospital on Tuesday and will not play again in 2007-08. Surgery will be performed by Villanova team orthopedist Dr. Rob Good.

The injury is a new one and unrelated to the stress fracture in the same ankle that kept Drummond out of action earlier this season. In December, the 6-10 center was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the right ankle that forced him to miss nine of 10 games from Dec. 14 - Jan. 26. He returned to the lineup at Pittsburgh on Jan. 30 before incurring further trouble that sidelined him from Feb. 23-Mar. 5.

"We are very disappointed for Casiem," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "He has struggled with injuries all season and now he has incurred a new one. We are proud of his toughness and commitment. We all will support him in overcoming this latest injury."

Drummond began the season in the starting lineup and notched a career-high 17 rebounds in a loss to North Carolina State in the finals of the Old Spice Classic on Nov. 25. He made nine starts in 21 appearances in 2007-08, averaging 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.