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Nick Ward and his Michigan State teammates discuss Ward's wounded left hand and its impact on the Spartans ranked tenth on February 18, 2019.
Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

EAST LANSING – Nick Ward spent the Michigan state basketball training on Monday as a spectator with his arm under a sling covering his surgically repaired left hand.

The process of repairing the hairline fracture he suffered during the 62-44 victory of the Spartans on the Ohio State was underway. And the junior striker said that he was "in a good position" even without delay to return to the field and the 10th MSU in search of a Big Ten title.

"I felt a little disappointed, but everything will be fine," Ward said after training. "I am a fast healer, so I will be back."

Nick Ward said that he had cut his left hand on this dunk on Justin Ahrens of Ohio State, left, and Andre Wesson in the first half of Sunday. Ward said that he was later injured by hand while hitting another player's elbow a few minutes later. (Photo11: Al Goldis, AP)

Ward repeated what coach Tom Izzo had said at his weekly press conference earlier in the afternoon: There remains no definitive schedule for Ward's return from his injury.

Izzo said the doctors had told him that it was a "small, traditional break."

"I talked to people who had three weeks (recovery), four weeks, five weeks," Izzo said. "Different people did different things depending on their reaction.

"For the most part, Nick was not hurt much, except for one or two ankle injuries. Let's hope that if things are going well for Nick, we'll get him back at the end (of the season). "

[[[[Nick Ward's injury hurts the Spartans. But they can overcome it. ]

Ward was operated at 8 pm Sunday. He felt good Monday after waking up and added that he was not taking any medication to manage the postoperative pain resulting from the injury that he suffered late in the first half.

"It was a number of things," Ward said. "I cut my hand on the rim, it did not help. And I bumped someone's elbow. That's where I hurt myself. The finger did not stop going out, so I ironed it during the game.

Nick Ward fights for a lost ball in the first half on Sunday. (Photo11: Mike Carter USA TODAY Sports)

Ward did not play the final at 13:25 of the win, and only played two relays in the second half for a total of 3:30 with a green envelope in hand.

"It was hard, it was hard," Ward said. "It did not really hurt, it was just annoying pain. My finger did not stop getting out of his place. That was the only thing. About 15 minutes from the second half, I could not do it. I could not even catch the ball. "

Ward is averaging 15.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.0 minutes over his 26 games this season.

"We will have to adjust ourselves as a team. … There is no doubt that our margin of error has decreased, "Izzo said. "Nick will not be replaced by a guy, it will be a group."

According to Izzo, this group will be replaced by first-year students Thomas Kithier and Marcus Bingham Jr., as well as second-year redshirt Braden Burke, who played his first year at Robert Morris in Pittsburgh in 2016-17.

"You know what, we're going to use all this damn team," Izzo said, "and we're going to have fun."

The Spartans (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) are tied with Michigan at the top of the Big Ten ranking. The MSU hosts Rutgers on Wednesday, then travels to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines on Sunday.

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Michigan State Basketball Coach, Tom Izzo, addresses the media on Monday, February 18, 2019 in East Lansing.
Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

"At three weeks of the regular season, we are at least in the position we wanted to be and that allows us to play in a championship," said Izzo. "I hope everyone here feels bad for Nick. But to be honest with you, I do not want anyone to feel bad for us.

Ward is the second significant long-term injury for the Spartans. He joins his junior colleague Joshua Langford, who was operated on earlier in February after being injured at one foot north of Illinois on December 29th.

"We both have a positive mentality and that's how you have to stay throughout this process," said Ward about himself and Langford. "So I'm ready to come back. … I am well placed. This is God's plan for my life. I will be fine. "

Contact Chris Solari at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Learn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.

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LSJ columnist Graham Couch, Chris Solari's Beat Beat Writer and Shawn Windsor's Fast columnist analyze MSU's victory over the Ohio State
Graham Couch and Shawn Windsor and Chris Solari, Lansing State Journal