Illinois will be without freshman guard R.J. Melendez for the showdown vs. Ohio State Thursday night, head coach Brad Underwood announced on Wednesday.

According to Jeremy Werner with the Illini Inquirer, Underwood announced that Melendez underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis. His status beyond Thursday was not addressed.

So far this season, Melendez has appeared in 19 games and has shown some great flashes off the bench. He scored a season-high 14 points in a win over Northwestern and added 10 points in a loss at Rutgers.

Melendez is averaging 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game and is shooting 55.8% from the floor. Though he hasn’t had a lot of attempts, Melendez is shooting 8-for-14 (57%) from 3-point range.

Hopefully, he is able to make a swift recovery and get back on the court quickly.