AUBURN | Austin Wiley has missed three games and will miss another Wednesday night, but Auburn’s starting center could return in time for a key rivalry matchup.

Bruce Pearl hasn’t ruled the junior out of Saturday’s home game against Alabama.

"He won't play against Missouri. I think for Alabama, he's getting closer,” Pearl said. “We're not trying to rush it; we won't play him until he's ready. But now, we're in the second week of what we thought was going to be a couple weeks. A couple is two or three, so we're in the middle of that second week. But I don't think he'll play -- he will not play against Missouri.”

The Tigers have lost three-straight games without Wiley and he could help shore up some of the team’s biggest weaknesses, which mainly lie on the defensive end according to Pearl. Wiley is third on the team averaging 10.8 points per game, but more importantly from a defensive perspective, he is tied for first averaging 6.1 rebounds and is the team's top shot blocker at 1.9 per game.

“I think a lot of times you think you can win games by making plays and when you think of making plays, you think of making plays offensively, making a shot, making a pass, whatever,” Pearl said. “Making plays means taking a charge or getting a rebound or a 50-50 ball or being in the right spot at the right time to help a teammate. And that's where we have lacked.”

Auburn hosts Missouri Wednesday night. Tip-off at Auburn Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.