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St. Louis University center Robbie Avila is expected to miss a couple of weeks after spraining his ankle Monday in the men’s basketball team’s season-opening game.

That’s about the best news SLU and its fans could hope for after Avila was lying in pain on the court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after getting hurt. When Avila sprained his right ankle Sept. 27, the same one he sprained Monday, he missed almost four weeks.

A two-week absence would keep him out of at least two games, home games against NAIA school Avila (on Sunday) and Loyola Marymount, with the next game Nov. 22 against Wichita State. And the less time he is out, the easier it would be for Avila to get back up to speed. The end of November is a busy one for SLU, which plays three games in six days starting with Wichita State, one of the tougher games on the nonconference schedule.

Avila sprained the ankle Monday with 4:36 to go in the 85-78 loss to Santa Clara when he landed after making a jump pass. He fell to court and laid under the basket in pain before finally being helped off the court, putting no weight on the ankle. He returned a few minutes later, an ice bag taped to his ankle as he sat at the end of the SLU bench, a towel over his head.

“Robbie is a huge part of our team,� guard Isaiah Swope said after the game. “He’s probably over half of our offense, from just getting guys open, creating for his own, hitting 3s, mismatches, talking, leadership. He’s a big part of our team, and even if he’s not on the floor, he’s still a big part of our team, with being a vocal leader, bringing in younger guys. He knows what everybody’s supposed to do from his position to the guard. He’s everything to us.�

It’s been a slow start for Avila at SLU. He missed one of SLU’s two exhibition games with the original ankle sprain, played briefly in the other exhibition and then got hurt in the first regular-season game and will miss at least two more games.