UConn sophomore Donovan Clingan is expected to be sidelined for about a month after suffering a foot strain earlier this week in practice.

The school announced the news Friday afternoon.

Clingan, who starred at Bristol Central, is expected to be fully recovered and ready to play in defending national champion UConn’s season opener on Nov. 6 against Northern Arizona at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.

After playing an important reserve role last season during which he averaged 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds, Clingan will anchor the frontcourt this season.

While the Huskies have held workouts since the summer, they ran their first official practice on Tuesday at the Werth Center.

Afterwards, Clingan, a 7-foot-2 center, talked to the media.

“I’m really excited about what we have with this team this year,” Clingan said. “Obviously, (Tuesday) is only day one. We still have a lot of work to do, a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time in the film room. But we have all the guys. We’ve just got to put it all together and I think we can have a good season.”

The Huskies need a healthy Clingan to have another successful season. His backups are Samson Johnson, a promising 6-10 junior, and 6-10 freshman Youssouf Singare.

Johnson started the regular season opener last season at power forward before a foot injury sidelined him for nearly two months and limited him to just 12 games overall.

g.keefe@theday.com