Two Auburn starters have been slowed by injuries of late, but Bruce Pearl provided a promising update on both ahead of the team’s trip to South Carolina this weekend.

Starting small forward Chris Moore, who has been dealing with a right shoulder injury, will again travel with the team to Columbia, S.C., and is “getting closer” to a return to the court, according to Pearl, who also disclosed that starting center Johni Broome has been bothered by a previously unmentioned toe sprain.

Read more Auburn basketball: No. 16 Auburn withstands surge, pulls away from LSU for 4th straight win

Walk-on Lior Berman cherishing increased role in rotation for No. 16 Auburn basketball

Where Auburn basketball stands with 2 months until the NCAA Tournament

Moore injured his right shoulder in the opening minutes of Auburn’s win at Ole Miss last week and did not return to the court that night. The junior has missed each of Auburn’s last two games—wins against Mississippi State and at LSU—but he traveled with the team to Baton Rouge, La., for the latter matchup and no longer had his right arm in a sling while at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Moore started each of Auburn’s first 16 games this season, with 15 starts at the three and one at power forward, and he’s averaging a career-high six points and 2.7 rebounds per game while also providing the Tigers with a level of toughness and physicality in the frontcourt. In his absence the last two games, Allen Flanigan has started at the three while walk-on Lior Berman has provided valuable minutes off the bench.

“He’s getting closer,” Pearl said of Moore. “But we’ve been getting — everybody else is sort of stepping up around not having one of our leaders.”

Broome, meanwhile, has been dealing with a sprained toe of late. It’s unclear when the injury occurred or how long the big man has been battling through it, but it has not caused him to miss any time on the court. It could be a factor in his production the last couple of games, which has declined somewhat after a string of four consecutive double-doubles to open SEC play.

Broome averaged 16.3 points and 11 rebounds per game in Auburn’s first four SEC contests, which were part of a 10-game streak that Broome scored in double figures. He became the first Auburn player since Cinmeon Bowers during the 2015-16 season to post four consecutive double-doubles. Broome shot 28-of-55 (50.1 percent) from the floor in those four games and blocked nine total shots.

That run ended last weekend. In Auburn’s last two wins against Mississippi State and LSU, Broome has scored 10 total points — on 4-of-10 shooting — and pulled down 10 total rebounds with just two blocks and seven combined turnovers. Despite the recent struggles, Broome is still Auburn’s second-leading scorer (12.3 points per game) and leading rebounder (8.5) this season.

“I don’t think it’s what (opponents are) doing,” Pearl said. “I think it’s something that’s very controllable by Johni. I think we’re fortunate. Again, Johni’s been one of our most consistent players. The good thing, from my standpoint, about our team, is the fact that when he hasn’t carried us the last two games, we’ve still been able to win. He’d been bothered a little bit by a toe sprain that I’ve not talked about. Slowed him down a little bit. He’s been getting treatment, and hopefully, he can be a little bit more I’ll just say active. More active at both ends. He’ll be double-doubling it again.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.