Dave Van Horn on Colin Fisher's surgery: 'He should be ready for next season'

The Arkansas baseball team got good news on Monday when an operation for left-handed pitcher Colin Fisher proved to need the lesser of two fixes for an issue with his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).

Fisher had an internal brace procedure done, rather than a full Tommy John’s surgery.

“It’s on the good side,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “He should be ready for next season. Yeah, just didn’t have to do full Tommy John’s, just a little bit of action in there and they fixed it.”

Colin Fisher had been a strong contributor for the Razorbacks this season prior to the elbow injury. He boasts a 6-1 record on the mound and a 2.67 ERA. He had 27 strikeouts in 27 innings worth of work, while allowing 24 hits and eight walks.

The good news is that he should be fully available for the team next season.

“He should be able to go next January,” Van Horn said. “He’ll rehab and he should be good to go like full bore when the season starts if everything stays the way it is.”

Arkansas looking to bounce back

Now without Colin Fisher, the Razorbacks are in the unfamiliar position of having to bounce back from a series loss following a competitive three-game matchup with Kentucky. The Wildcats took the series 2-1.

But Van Horn still feels optimistic about where things are headed for his team.

“We feel good where we’re at,” Van Horn said. “As a coach, you want to continue to see your team get better. I’ve seen us been up and down a little bit. I’ve seen the hitting fade a little bit, I’ve seen the pitching fade a little bit. Then, all of a sudden, it kicks back in. It’s baseball, that’s the way it is.”

Arkansas remains firmly in the hunt in the SEC race, trailing Kentucky by just one game while tied with Tennessee.

The Razorbacks will close with series against Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The series against Mississippi State will begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.