Kevin Ware Injury: Louisville Guard Says He'll Be 'Fine'

Following a gruesome injury that made national headlines in yesterday's win over Duke, Louisville guard Kevin Ware remained positive when discussing his broken leg with ESPN. Ware suffered a broken tibia and underwent a two-hour surgery late Sunday night after leaving his team's Elite Eight victory early.

"Hopefully I'll be back in time to watch practice," Ware told ESPN.com by phone Monday. "It hurts but I'll be fine. I'll be fine."

Ware, who had a steel rod inserted in his leg, said that when the injury initially happened, he thought it wasn't serious. After seeing the reaction of his coach, Rick Pitino, the sophomore guard knew something was wrong.

"I jumped and my leg felt kind of funny," he said. "When Coach P tried to help me up, he gave me a funny kind of look. I'm looking at him and then I look down and I see my bone sticking out. It wasn't a hurt feeling. I just went into shock."

Inspired by their fallen teammate, Louisville went on to defeat Duke 85-63 to advance to the Final Four. The Cardinals will face Wichita State on Saturday, April 1.