Still, this isn’t the Appling fans are used to.

“I really can’t put it at a percentage, but I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to being at 100 percent,” Appling said. “Coaches told me to tell them whenever I’m feeling better and that I can go out there and play, just let them know.”

Appling came off the bench and played 19 minutes, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds.

The doctors have given him the green light to go all out in practice, because there’s nothing he can do to make his wrist worse.

Head coach Tom Izzo said before the game that he hoped Appling could play a few minutes.

But, junior guard Travis Trice picked up two early fouls and forced the recovering senior onto the court early.

Trice filled in for Appling through his three-game hiatus and started again against Nebraska.

Still, Izzo said the decision to put Appling in had nothing to do with Trice getting into foul trouble.

“We decided after warmups that we were going to try and play him some,” Izzo said.

Trice has been on somewhat of a tear of his own since taking over the point for Appling, scoring in double-digits two of the last three games and not committing a turnover until the second half against the Cornhuskers.

Trice finished with just three points and one assist, but said his foul trouble was more the reason for an off game rather than Appling coming back to the rotation.

This has been a season riddled with injuries for the Spartans, as only two players, freshman Gavin Schilling and sophomore Denzel Valentine, have played in all 26 games for MSU.

Izzo admitted the team is getting frustrated, but said that’s what happened when they don’t play together.

“I don’t see anything really changing a lot as far as role players, we’ve just got to get our star players back,” he said. “There’s a reason they’re role players, they’re not starters. They’ve got to get back to realizing that when you play well, good things happen.”