Creighton's injury list is shrinking.

Casey Harriman returned to practice Friday for the first time since getting sick Nov. 5. Chad Millard, who has been out since early October with a foot injury, came back Thursday. Antoine Young, who has been nursing a sore knee, practiced the past two days after leaving Tuesday's win over Florida A&M early in the second half.

That leaves only Justin Carter definitely out for Sunday's game against Arkansas-Little Rock. And Carter was actually back on the court Friday, doing some cutting drills with trainer Ben McNair. Afterward, Carter said his injured knee is doing well and didn't rule out returning for next week's tournament in Orlando, Fla.

“When I first got hurt, we set a point for getting back in Florida,'' Carter said. “I'm still shooting for Orlando.''

The injuries to Carter and Millard and Harriman's illness has forced Creighton to play short-handed in its first two games — a 90-80 loss at Dayton and the 78-53 whipping of Florida A&M. While it's still going to be awhile before the Bluejays are back to full strength, coach Dana Altman said this week's developments are encouraging.

“We got them a few minutes and a few possessions today,'' Altman said. “I'm not sure if they'll be ready to go or not, but it's good they're back.

“There's no way they're ready to go for long periods. It could be we put them on for a minute and take them off for five, put them on for another minute and take them off for five more. They want to go, but in Chad's case, he's been out for seven weeks. Casey, he's been out for more than two. You can want to do it, but that's a long time to be out.''

Harriman, a 6-foot-5 junior forward, received clearance to begin practicing again Friday after tests indicated his spleen had returned to its normal size. Harriman became ill with the H1N1 flu before being stricken with complications that included tonsillitis, strep throat and mononucleosis.

Asked how it felt to get back onto the court, Harriman replied, “Weird. I haven't done anything for more than two weeks, so I'm just trying to get back into it.

“I thought I did fine, and I wasn't too tired. I did get dizzy doing some things, but other than that, I felt all right. Right now, I'm just trying to do as much as I can and get my energy back.''

Harriman lost about 20 pounds but said he finally has his appetite back.

Millard, a 6-8 senior forward, broke a bone in his foot in early October. He appeared ready to return earlier this month but suffered a setback that led to another two weeks of inactivity.

Millard was moving well in drills Friday.

“I'm feeling real comfortable on the floor,'' he said. “As long as there are no setbacks, I will dress for the game on Sunday. My foot gets sore after working out for long periods of time, but it's very manageable right now.''

Carter tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in Creighton's Nov. 8 exhibition game against UNO. Originally, Carter was told he would probably miss two to four weeks.

He started some light running in practice early this week, and he said he was encouraged after Friday's workout.

“I still need to get stronger and get my explosiveness back,'' said Carter, a 6-4 senior. “The only pain I had was when my brace was pushing on a spot that was sore. I did have a little pull on the MCL when I was cutting.''

Carter said he knows the coaches will try to ease him back into action but that's not his style.

“I know I'm not ready to play 30 minutes right away,'' he said. “I just need to get my tempo back in practice, so I'll be ready when they call on me.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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