David Mirkovic’s foot surgery, a procedure he underwent on Tuesday, sent a shock through the college hoops world. The knee-jerk reaction brought a myriad of questions: What, specifically, was the foot injury? What is the typical timeline for recovery? And most importantly, what is his timeline?
Although the program itself has yet to announce a timetable for Mirkovic’s return, Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 offered Illini Nation hope on Tuesday evening:
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“According to my sources, he’ll be out 6-8 weeks,” Goodman said. Again, the school has not reported a timeline. But Goodman is a tenured voice in college basketball and a historically reliable source.
So how are the Illini affected if Mirkovic is out just 6-8 weeks? (Mind you, if that timeline holds true, that would be a dream scenario for Illinois.)
What a late-September return from David Mirkovic would mean for Illinois
Jan 24, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward David Mirkovic (0) celebrates a win agains the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
On the conservative end of that timeline, Mirkovic would be back in action by late September. That would give him more than a full month to get back into game shape, reacclimate himself with his teammates and find his rhythm.
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Obviously, missing two months of valuable practice reps and opportunities to continue working on his game shouldn’t be glossed over – especially considering Mirkovic, by all accounts, was in the midst of a spectacular offseason.
Disrupting that flow isn’t ideal. But considering the current possibilities, a return by late September could not be a better outcome for Mirkovic and Illinois.
In Mirkovic’s absence, Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic may spend more time playing alongside each other in practice – which could pay dividends for the Illini come the regular season.
Without Ben Humrichous, the majority of Illinois lineups will likely feature some two-player combination of the Ivisic twins and Mirkovic (although it is possible Andrej Stojakovic gets shifted to the four on occasion). But Mirkovic has to come off the floor at some point, meaning the Ivisic twins will likely share it together.
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Both Tomislav and Zvonimir struggle in ball-screen action. Big Z tends to gravitate toward the perimeter on offense – which Tomislav also did at times in the 2025-26 season.
Playing with each other in practice will force at least one of them – or the Illini coaching staff – to find solutions in ball-screen defense. It’ll also push Tomislav to anchor down in the paint and demand the ball on offense.
And if those two can find a way to showcase their best traits while sharing the floor, Illinois is going to have a rim-protecting, glass-cleaning, floor-spacing duo for the ages in its frontcourt – and that’ll be when Mirkovic, one of the nation’s top players, is off the floor.
At the end of the day, though, if Mirkovic truly is back to 100 percent by late September – or even mid-October, for that matter – he won’t miss a beat, and neither will the Illini, who enter 2026-27 as the Big Ten favorite with a healthy Mirkovic.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/illinois as Breaking Down David Mirkovic’s Best-Case Recovery Timeline.
