JJ Traynor, the lone senior on the Louisville men's basketball team, will miss the remainder of its 2023-24 season due to a shoulder injury.

U of L (5-9, 0-3 ACC) announced in a statement before its 83-70 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday that Traynor, who hadn't played since a Dec. 3 loss at Virginia Tech but was trending in the right direction, reinjured the affected shoulder during practice Friday at the KFC Yum! Center.

The injury initially occurred while Traynor, a 6-foot-8 forward from Bardstown, warmed up for a Dec. 9 game against DePaul in Chicago. He was scratched before tipoff from what ended in a 75-68 loss to the Blue Demons.

Payne said Saturday the injured shoulder was reaggravated when Traynor got "bumped the wrong way" during practice. This after the second-year head coach on Tuesday said the senior was "pretty close" to returning, which he conveyed by suiting up for the Cardinals' 77-53 loss at Virginia on Wednesday.

"(It's) devastating to this program," Payne said Saturday, "but he did everything in his power to get back and help us win games."

A spokesperson for the team, Zach Greenwell, told The Courier Journal that Traynor is expected to undergo shoulder surgery. Payne on Saturday said he did not know if the forward will pursue a medical redshirt, which would grant him another year of eligibility in addition to the year he already had banked due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the injury, Traynor was averaging 10.1 points on 51.6% shooting and, entering Saturday, a team-best 36.8% clip from 3-point range. He accounted for 14 of U of L's 28 dunks through the first eight games of the season as well as 4.6 rebounds per contest.

Against Pitt, the Cards were also, for the second game in a row, without sophomores Tre White (groin) and Emmanuel Okorafor (ankle). And on Thursday, the team announced freshman center Dennis Evans will, indefinitely, not be medically cleared to compete moving forward.

That left Payne with only seven scholarship players at his disposal for what ended in the 24th loss by 10 or more points across his 46 games at the helm of his alma mater.

"If you've got a great walk-on, send him my way," Payne said. "I need players."

Added redshirt sophomore Mike James, who scored a game-high 23 points in the loss, "We've just got to have guys ready to step up — and we do. So, just have a 'next-man-up' mentality. No matter who's going out, guys have got to stay ready."

Louisville hits the road for its next game, a 7 p.m. tipoff Wednesday at Miami.

Payne told reporters Saturday he did not know if White or Okorafor would be cleared to play by then but said he "put a little pressure on them" by telling them "they should be getting treated four or five times a day."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: JJ Traynor out for season with shoulder injury