The Ithaca Journal reports Cornell senior Jason Hartford underwent surgery to repair a broken navicular bone in his foot. The junior college transfer suffered the injury during Ivy League play last season and missed the final weekend. He stayed off the foot since the season, but it didn’t heal, so the surgical procedure was performed on June 13. Recovery is expected to take three to six months, which means Hartford could miss the first month of the season. The 6-9, 230-pound Hartford is a projected starter at power forward for the Big Red, whose season opener is scheduled for November 10 at Northwestern.

Slant: Cornell will be hoping for the three-month recovery, as Hartford is a key part of its plans for 2006-07, and this is a program that needs to get off to a strong start. When healthy, Hartford is an All-Ivy-caliber player who can score and bang inside and step out to hit the three-pointer. But injuries to his wrist and foot hampered him in his first season with the Big Red, and now the foot injury is threatening the beginning of his senior campaign. If Hartford isn’t able to go at the start of the season, Steve Donahue likely will turn to rising sophomore Brian Kreefer, who was impressive in a limited role as a freshman.