Injuries happen in sports every day, but injuries like what Justin Minaya suffered and the struggles he had to go through the past eight months are once in a career experiences.

Minaya suffered what Hassani Gravett called a scary knee injury in practice and spent the better part of the year rehabbing so now, entering his redshirt sophomore season is fully healthy and ready to put this part of his career behind him.

“It’s definitely been a struggle. It’s rough sitting out this time waiting on my opportunity to get back,” Minaya said. “I’ve really come along good and it’s made me better mentally. Mentally just be patient. There are times you think you’re ready but you’re not ready. I’m on my way; I’m doing good. I’m really excited to get back.”

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Minaya, who averaged 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32 games (30 starts) as a freshman, played in only five games as a sophomore before injuring his knee, effectively ending his season.

He underwent surgery soon after and immediately made up his mind on being back sometime near the start of SEC play.

But, as that date got closer and Minaya didn’t get closer to being fully cleared, he had a decision to make: play and potentially burn a year of eligibility to get in 10 extra games or redshirt and be back fully as a redshirt sophomore.

There were plenty of conversations between Minaya and head coach Frank Martin mulling the decision but Minaya ultimately decided to sit out the rest of year with his entire focus on the 2019 season.

“There were a lot of times I was struggling and I wanted to get back so bad,” he said. “I was really down for a little bit because I wanted to be back on the court. I put this expectation in my head that I was going to come back. When that didn’t happen, I was down.”

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In his absence, though, it gave guys like Keyshawn Bryant a chance to shine as a freshman.

With Minaya’s minutes to pick up, Bryant filled the majority of those, starting 26 games while averaging nine points and 3.8 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game.

Now they’ll take that production and couple it with Minaya at either the small or potentially power forward spot.

“I saw it from the beginning, from day one, grow up,” “I was so proud of them to grow day by day. I’m really excited for this year.”

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Minaya, who's been full-go once the season ended, will fit somewhere in the mix, although both he and Bryant said the coaching staff hasn’t talked to either about their roles next season.

Minaya hopes to be a key contributor like he was his freshman year and before he was hurt but heading into his bounce back season he’s just hoping to get back to what he was pre-injury, if not better.

“I’m not setting any expectations for myself. I’m just trying to get better every day, day by day. In the past I looked too far ahead of myself and that’s where I got caught up,” Minaya said. “I’m staying day by day, keep working and see where it takes me.”

It’s easier said than done with Minaya still gaining trust back in his knee that it can do everything it was able to before he went down.

“That’s my biggest problem; I have to trust the knee. It took a little bit of time to get some confidence in myself and gain the belief it’s getting better. “