Illinois freshman guard Joseph Bertrand continues to battle the effects of a knee injury that required surgery in September, and coach Bruce Weber said Thursday that red shirting is not out of the question.

Weber said he had a meeting with the 6-5 guard from Sterling, Ill., after practice one day this week to reassure him that the coaching staff was pleased with his progress. But he said the knee clearly is limiting what Bertrand can accomplish on the court.

Bertrand’s status could be critical because of the team’s situation at guard. Without him, the Illini would have only Demetri McCamey and freshmen D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul as scholarship guards. Jeff Jordan is a walk-on who recently returned to the team after missing a summer of workouts.

“We’ll have to see how he progresses over the next couple of weeks and then make a decision,” Weber said of Bertrand. “We’ll watch how Jeff (Jordan) progresses then look at it. I know he doesn’t want to red shirt and most kids don’t. He doesn’t want to sit out. He’s practicing when we told him to sit out.”

Weber said all of the freshmen have proved to be among the top 10 players on the team at this point. However, he questioned how many minutes the players at the lower end of that pecking order can expect. Would it be enough to avoid a red shirt season?

Bertrand was injured during a workout and required arthroscopic surgery. He returned quicker than expected and has done some nice things, Weber said. But he sees the frustration that has come with the recovery process.

“The defensive stuff is tough on him,” Weber said. “Late in practice he just kind of gives out. Or going hard, planting and jump-stopping to make a pass or go up and shoot it’s like he’s telling his body to do it but the knee doesn’t help.”

Weber said he told Bertrand he was happy with his recovery and that he had been competitive in practice. He wanted to boost the freshman’s confidence after seeing his frustration.

“He can’t perform as well, so that’s why I tried to give him a vote of confidence,” Weber said. “I said ‘Be patient. You’re fine. We’re happy with you.’ We think he has a good future with us.”