Kentucky's Lamont Butler exits Tennessee clash with concerning injury
Today at 08:55 PM
The injury report for No. 15-ranked Kentucky basketball got even longer during its clash against No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday night. During the second half with the Wildcats holding onto a very small lead, point guard Lamont Butler went down with an apparent left arm injury while diving for a loose ball.
Butler was playing just his second game since returning from a three-game absence due to a left shoulder injury, and it’s possible that he re-aggravated that injury on this play. He immediately went back to the locker room after suffering the injury and did not high-five any of his teammates with his left hand on the way off the court. It is currently unclear whether he will be able to return.
Without Butler, Kentucky is without its top three options at point guard. Senior Jaxson Robinson is out due to a wrist injury and veteran transfer Kerr Kriisa has been out for a long time due to a foot injury. If Butler is unable to return, Kentucky will have a very hard time getting its offense started.
Shortly after the injury, Butler emerged from the locker room with a warm-up jacket on ands left arm dangling by his side. ESPN’s Molly McGrath confirmed that Butler had re-injured his shoulder and would not return to the game.
Not only does this make the task more difficult for Kentucky on Tuesday night, but it hurts the Wildcats’ chances going forward in an absolute gauntlet in the SEC. Following this titanic matchup, Kentucky has to play a road game against Texas and has battles against No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Auburn scheduled later this month. If Butler is forced to miss extended time, those games become much more daunting for Mark Pope and company.
For the season, Butler is averaging 12.9 points per game and leads Kentucky with 4.7 assists a night despite playing just 26.5 minutes per game. Now, this Kentucky basketball team awaits Butler’s official status as it tries to finish off a big win at home against a top five team.
The post Kentucky’s Lamont Butler exits Tennessee clash with concerning injury appeared first on ClutchPoints.
