The 2-1 Illinois men's basketball team came into the season without star forward David Mirkovic.

His absence was expected, as the sophomore underwent foot surgery in August which put him on a scooter and in a walking boot for several months. What was not expected was the emergency appendectomy that he required just days before the season opener. The additional procedure obviously put his status in question beyond the health of his foot with the standard recovery time from appendix surgery set around six weeks.

But at practice on Thursday ahead of the Fighting Illini's matchup with 2-1 Sam Houston, head coach Brad Underwood gave an encouraging update on Mirkovic regarding both the foot and the stomach.

Mirkovic, who has been spotted out of the walking boot, is "starting his process" to ramp back up after the appendix surgery. Underwood explained that after a follow-up appointment on Thursday, he would begin the "procedure process" needed to get comfortable post-op.

Most notably, Underwood said that Mirkovic is shooting a basketball again, which he called a good sign that "his stomach is in an okay spot where it's not too painful."

The tandem rehab of foot and appendix is a complicated one. With the foot still not 100 percent, it will be difficult to get the conditioning drills in that are necessary to test the strength of the midsection. At the same time, the training staff likely won't want to push it too hard on the appendix just yet, which could potential slow the strengthening exercises for his foot.

That said, it's promising to see Mirkovic take these steps forward now a few months removed from foot surgery but just under two weeks from the appendectomy.

Underwood did clarify over a week ago that Mirkovic had undergone laparoscopic surgery, which presents several advantages over the traditional open appendectomy. With this, he should experience a quicker recovery and less pain in the early postoperative stages. The update here seemingly confirms this to a certain extent, with Mirkovic able to manage the pain enough to get shots up so soon after the surgery.

The absence of Mirkovic has already been felt by the Illini. After losing fellow starter Jake Davis to shoulder surgery, Illinois dropped an early game to Texas Tech in Lubbock by a score of 84-78. Getting Mirkovic back in the mix should help prevent similar setbacks for a team with real title aspirations.