Bad news broke once again for the Marquette men’s basketball team Monday afternoon.

Sophomore Chris Otule is likely to miss the remainder of the season after fracturing his right foot in the team’s practice, said coach Buzz Williams. Otule is the second player to be lost for the season as Junior Cadougan suffered an Achilles injury during preseason workouts.

This is the second time Otule has had foot injuries since becoming a Golden Eagle in the fall of 2008. Last season he was sidelined for the team’s first 10 games with a broken bone in his left foot. With minimal ability and experience, he registered 1.3 points and 1.1 rebounds last season.

This season looked promising for the 6-foot-10 center as Williams often praised his maturity from last season. With the departure of Dwight Burke, Otule became one of the only options in the low post and earned his first career start against Grambling State Saturday. In three games he was averaging 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

“We are extremely hurt for Chris,” Williams said in a Marquette Athletics press release. “His development since the end of last season has been extraordinary. He has grown as a person and that was reflective in who he was becoming as a player. His game and confidence were growing daily, and though his stats do not reveal it, there was a residual positive impact for what he was giving our team on both ends of the floor.

With Otule gone, Marquette is left with not many options down low. Freshman center Youssoupha Mbao saw his first collegiate minutes against Grambling State but has looked average at best in his early season action. Forwards Lazar Hayward, Jimmy Butler and Jeronne Maymon will also contribute down low for the undersized Golden Eagles.