Lubbock, Texas ? Texas Tech’s Esmir Rizvic, who suffered a fractured eye socket when an opposing player elbowed him, will remain eligible for another half season because of the injury, the NCAA announced Monday.

Rizvic did not play the rest of the season after Oklahoma’s Longar Longar hit him Jan. 5 during each team’s Big 12 opener.

Under a waiver granted by the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, Rizvic will be given back the 50 percent of the season lost due to the foul, allowing him half an additional season to be used during his fifth year at Tech.

Rizvic, who started 11 games and averaged 3.8 points per game, is entering his senior year this fall. He transferred to Tech from a junior college in Florida in 2006.