Courtney Banghart provided an injury update on star forward Alyssa Ustby

We can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Leading up to Thursday's UNC women's basketball game, a lot of the attention surrounded the injury status of star forward Alyssa Ustby. The fifth-year graduate student left the NC State game early in the first quarter due to what appeared to be a lower-body injury.

Even though the Tar Heels were without Ustby on Thursday night at Syracuse, head coach Courtney Banghart provided some good news prior to the game.

While speaking to Matt Krause on the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show, Banghart said that the UNC women's basketball program expects Ustby back this season. This is what the Tar Heels head coach had to say:

"I know there's a lot of people waiting for a collective sigh of relief, and you've got it... she'll be back soon. She understands it's for the betterment of her that we're gonna make sure that she's alright. She'll be back."

PHEW!

As we all know, Ustby is a major part of the equation for the No. 9-ranked team in the country, as she does a little bit of everything to help the Tar Heels win games. Before her injury, Ustby was leading the UNC women's basketball program in points, rebounds and assists per-game, as her high energy and motor drive her to play the game at 150% at essentially all times.

North Carolina is better when No. 1 is in uniform, as they'll play it smart to ensure that her return to action is done properly.

The Tar Heels won't rush Ustby back, even if she pushes to get back (which we bet she will!). When the timing is right, Ustby will be back on the floor, and the UNC women's basketball program will be better because of her presence.

Now, it's just a matter of when she's able to return to action.