Another day, another guard down.

The injury trend continued for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team yesterday as freshly reinstated guard "Little Matt" Gibson had to sit out of practice after undergoing minor surgery earlier in the day to remove a severe staph infection near his chest.

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said he does not expect Gibson to play Saturday when the Rainbow Warriors host Utah State in the Western Athletic Conference opener at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"The stuff they took out was the size of a golf ball," Wallace said. "It's a day-by-day thing, but I'm not expecting him to be ready (by Saturday)."

Gibson was reinstated to the team Tuesday after serving a 17-day suspension for a verbal altercation with the Hawai'i coaches. Gibson, a 6-foot-5 junior, has missed three consecutive games because of the suspension.

Gibson and Bobby Nash — the team's top two reserves when healthy — are both expected to miss Saturday's game. Nash has an injured right shoulder that could keep him out of action for the rest of the season.

"You just have to plug in the next guy and go," Wallace said. "Injuries happen. You can't use it as an excuse not to play. You have to look at it as an opportunity for the next guy."

Starting shooting guard Matt Lojeski returned to practice yesterday, although his mobility was limited. Lojeski sat out Tuesday's practice with a sprained left shoulder.

"He'll be better (today) and better by the game," Wallace said.

With Gibson and Nash out, junior John Wilder and true freshman Dominic Waters could get extended playing time Saturday.

True freshman point guard Hiram Thompson also has been sitting out of practice this week because of an injury to his right foot.

UTAH STATE ARRIVING LATE, LEAVING EARLY

Utah State's first WAC trip to Honolulu will be a brief one.

The Aggies are expected to arrive here around 10 p.m. on Friday. Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said his team could not leave Logan, Utah, earlier because the players are taking final exams this week.

What's more, Saturday's game is at 1 p.m. so that the Aggies can depart Honolulu later that night. They have a home game next Tuesday.

"We're in the same situation as Hawai'i," Morrill said. "We're in the middle of finals and trying to get something done on top of that."

Utah State senior forward Nate Harris added: "We'd like to be there earlier, especially since it is Hawai'i and it's 20 degrees over here (in Logan). But we have business to take care of on and off the court."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.