Kansas will be without starting guard Melvin Council Jr. until at least January after he suffered a broken foot during practice, the program announced on Monday. The Jayhawks are set to face No. 24 Kentucky on Tuesday in Chicago in the second leg of the Champions Classic.

"Melvin broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot during Monday's practice and will have surgery in the next couple of days," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We expect a full recovery and we're hopeful he will return around the start of the conference season."

Council, who is playing this season on an injunction after being granted a fifth year of eligibility, started in each of Kansas' first two games of the season against Middle Tennessee and Fordham. He finished with 10 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two steals during the 30-point win against Fordham on opening night last week.

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The former Wagner and St. Bonaventure guard transferred to Kansas ahead of the 2025-26 season and started 35 games for the Jayhawks, averaging 12.7 points, 5.1 assists and 5.0 rebounds. Council and Tre White — two starters from last season's team — were granted a fifth year of eligibility weeks before the program's season opener.

In addition to adding White and Council back to the roster, Kansas also added former Purdue star forward Trey Kaufman-Renn. Kaufman-Renn spent the first five seasons of his college career with the Boilermakers before enrolling at Kansas ahead of the start of the season, where he is playing on an injunction.

Who steps up now for Kansas?

Losing Council is a big loss for Kansas. He was a microwave scorer for the Jayhawks last season. He brought extra energy while playing with both the first and second units. When star guard Darryn Peterson missed extensive time last season due to cramping issues, Council stepped up on the offensive end of the floor.

Now, others will have to do the same in his absence

In Kansas' season-opener, Self didn't start Kaufman-Renn and went with a lineup of Taylen Kinney/White/Council/Tyran Stokes and Christian Reeves. Reeves came off the bench during Kansas' second game of the season when Kaufman-Renn was elevated to the starting lineup.

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With Council out, Self will have options on how he wants to replace his production in the starting lineup. Two options are Keanu Dawes or Leroy Blyden Jr., who played the most minutes off the bench during the Jayhawks' last game. None of Kansas' starters played more than 22 minutes in the second game of the season because it was a blowout, so expect the starters to play significantly more against Kentucky on Tuesday.

Stokes, who is the projected No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft, scored eight points in 21 minutes against Middle Tennessee. His minutes and production are both expected to increase as Kansas' schedule gets tougher with games against Kentucky, UNLV, Villanova, UConn and Ohio State on the schedule.

Kansas' opening game of Big 12 play is against West Virginia on Jan. 2. The lone ranked conference opponent the Jayhawks face during the first month of the season is No. 23 BYU on Jan. 9. The first real test in conference play will come on the road against No. 8 Houston on Feb. 1.