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Alijah Arenas injury update: USC guard to make season debut vs. Northwestern

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz01/22/26NickSchultz_7

USC guard Alijah Arenas is set to make his season debut Wednesday against Northwestern, the program announced. He has been working his way back from a knee injury suffered over the summer.

Arenas returned to practice last month as he neared his return from injury. On3’s Joe Tipton also reported earlier this week that the former highly rated recruit was considered probable for the game against Northwestern.

Arenas was the crown jewel of USC’s 2025 recruiting class. He was a Five Star Plus+ recruit and the No. 12 overall player, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

The son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, Alijah Arenas suffered a torn meniscus in July, which put his 2025-26 season in jeopardy. That came after he was injured in a serious car accident in April.

USC coach Eric Musselman confirmed in December that Arenas was progressing well from his injury. His return could provide a jolt for the Trojans as they go through the early part of the Big Ten schedule.

“He’s doing great,” Musselman said Dec. 15. “He worked out today. He sat in my office for three hours after shoot around talking about a whole bunch of stuff. But yeah, he’ll be a shot in the arm or whatever word you want to use. And we’re desperate for that.”

USC takes a 14-4 overall record into Wednesday’s game against Northwestern, including a 3-4 mark in Big Ten play. The Trojans are coming off a loss to Purdue last time out at Mackey Arena, 69-64. USC led for more than 20 minutes in that game, and Musselman acknowledged that effort. But he pointed to Braden Smith and rebounding as difference-makers for the Boilermakers.

“We led for 21 minutes in the game against the No. 5 team in the country. We made an adjustment at halftime on Braden Smith. He had 18 points. He had four the second half. We’re running out of bodies. There’s no excuse. I know we lost the game,” Musselman said. “But you take four players off any team in this league. The fight, the scrappiness, the toughness, it was there. You don’t outrebound Purdue if you’re not playing with toughness with their size. So, I don’t know what to say. Jerry Easter is the guy that was gonna guard Smith. So, you deal with the hand you’re dealt. I don’t know how else to say it.”