UNC returns one of its stars for Saturday's clash against Syracuse

North Carolina received a huge boost prior to taking the court against Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.

Henri Veesaar will return to the lineup

After missing the previous two games due to a lower-body injury, Henri Veesaar will return to the lineup for the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon against Syracuse.

This is a huge boost for North Carolina, especially given how the injury bug has impacted the front court unit. Veesaar's return adds not only an elite presence in the post, but another stable body for Hubert Davis to work with, as his presence while sidelined was truly missed.

How healthy is he?

That is the million dollar question.

Veesaar has been limited in practice, but Davis has said on multiple occasions that he has made progress toward his return. Prior to the game, Veesaar went through full team warmups and was moving rather smoothly, indicating that he is close to game ready (if not fully there yet).

If you're North Carolina, you're not going to risk running him out on the court if he isn't ready to go. You know that the training staff checked off all the boxes to ensure that Veesaar is ready to go.

Huge news for UNC

Any time you're without your two leading scorers (and rebounders), it's difficult to replicate that production.

Veesaar's return is huge in a variety of ways, not only just with regard to what he does in the post. His ability to stretch the floor and knock down shots is crucial, especially considering that the Tar Heels guards haven't shot the ball quite well of late.

While Veesaar likely won't log 35+ minutes on Saturday (with Zayden High emerging as a capable front court option), we'll have to wait and see if there are any restrictions on minutes for the junior big man in his return to the court.