Adou Thiero injury update: Kenny Payne reveals what he knows on Arkansas forward's health

The Arkansas Razorbacks were without star forward Adou Thiero on Wednesday when they took on the Texas Longhorns. A knee injury that he suffered on Saturday has kept him sidelined and needs further evaluation.

After the Texas game, assistant coach Kenny Payne filled in for head coach John Calipari at the Razorbacks’ press conference. There, he shared a brief injury update on what he knows about Adou Thiero’s health at this point.

“I don’t know the latest of what’s going on,” Payne said. “But we need him. We hope he comes back soon, and as we get more information, sure, we’ll know more.”

It was in the second half of Saturday’s game against the Missouri Tigers when Thiero hyperextended his knee. That has kept him out ever since, and now there is no timetable for his return to the court. From here, his physical evaluations are going to continue.

This season, Thiero has been one of the best players for Arkansas. He’s averaging 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. On the defensive end, he’s averaging 0.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game. On top of that, he’s also shooting 54.8% from the field while drilling 26.2% of his three-pointers.

Thiero followed head coach John Calipari from the Kentucky Wildcats to Arkansas through the transfer portal in the past offseason. After spending two seasons with Kentucky, he’s now in his third college season playing for Calipari.

A member of the Class of 2022, Thiero was a three-star recruit out of Leetsdale (Pa.) Quaker Valley, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 8 overall prospect in the state, the No. 32 combo guard in the class, and the No. 265 overall prospect in the class.

Even without Thiero, Arkansas was able to beat Texas on Wednesday. It was their second win in a row and came in overtime against the Longhorns. That made for two wins in a row and the Razorbacks are now 17-11 overall and 6-9 in the SEC this season. That’s 11th in the current conference standings with just three games remaining in the regular season for the Razorbacks this season.

Next, Arkansas is going to begin its final road trip of the season, starting with a road trip to play the South Carolina Gamecocks. That game is scheduled for Saturday, March 1st.