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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ eight-day break between games allowed players to spend some time with family for Christmas, but served a dual purpose for Desi Sills.

The sophomore guard from Jonesboro used the extra time to recover from a deep knee bruise suffered in the Razorbacks’ 72-68 win over Valparaiso.

Sills came up limping after being fouled on a drive to the basket at Simmons Bank Arena. Although he remained in the game to shoot his free throws, he missed all but 39 seconds of the second half.

Immediately following the game, head coach Eric Musselman said the injury wasn’t serious - it didn’t even require an X-ray - but was non-committal about his status for Arkansas’ next game: Dec. 29 at Indiana.

With that game two days away, he sounded more encouraged about his chances to play against the Hoosiers.

“Today was the first day that he kind of went through stuff,” Musselman said Friday. “He didn’t do much of our contact stuff, but we still have 48 hours before game time. He’ll just keep doing as much rehab as he possibly can, but we would expect him to be able to play.”

Whether or not Sills remains in the starting lineup likely depends on how he practices Saturday, but he told reporters that he was doing daily treatments and therapy to get healthy.