Answer on Mizzou’s Michael Porter Jr. is possibly on the way

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Will Michael Porter Jr. play again for the Missouri men’s basketball team this season?

We may soon know the answer.

Porter has been fully cleared to resume all basketball activities, Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports reported Thursday, citing an anonymous source.

There was no official announcement from the program regarding Porter, the Tigers’ freshman phenom who has missed almost all of the regular season after back surgery.

Porter met with his surgeon in Dallas on Thursday, and Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin is expected to address reporters today before the team leaves for Kentucky. The Tigers (1810, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) face the Wildcats (19-9, 8-7) on Saturday night. Both programs are part of the sixteam logjam for third place in the league standings with the conference tournament coming up soon.

While Porter may be cleared to return to practice, that doesn’t mean he will.

Martin was reticent two weeks ago when asked whether there was a date he would need Porter to be ready by in order to have him play.

“What’s best is not always ideal for everybody,” Martin said. “I’ll make that decision. We’ll make that decision and decide what’s best whenever that time presents itself, whatever that is.”

The Tigers are down to just nine healthy players after junior point guard Terrence Phillips was removed from the roster as of Tuesday. He is part of an ongoing campus Title IX investigation. The program has also lost freshmen guards C.J. Roberts and Blake Harris, who plan to transfer.

Missouri has been projected as an NCAA tournament team most of the season despite Porter’s absence, but the Tigers have dropped their past two games. Their two remaining regular-season games after Saturday are at Vanderbilt the following Saturday and against Arkansas on March 2.