Walter Clayton injury update: Todd Golden evaluates injury to Florida guard

It was a long day in Knoxville for the Florida Gators who struggled offensively on their way to a 64-44 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. Worse than that, head coach Todd Golden also saw his guard Walter Clayton go down with an injury.

Following the game, Golden broke down what he saw on the floor from Clayton and evaluated just how bad the injury is for him.

“Obviously, tweaked his ankle,” Todd Golden said. “He threw off his back foot in the first half off that ball screen and he landed on a Tennessee guy. He was off his back foot, faded the way, the guy came — not maliciously — but into him under his body and he landed his foot. Sprained it, taped it up, and gave it a good effort in the second half.”

Walter Clayton finished the game with 10 points and two rebounds in 27 minutes, some of which was played after he initially left the game with his ankle injury. That actually led the Gators in scoring as he was the only one to score in double-digits. Still, given that the senior is averaging 17.4 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game this season, it was a step back.

“Obviously, he wasn’t himself with his explosiveness,” Golden said. “We’ll just have to take it day-by-day. I don’t think it’s crazy, crazy serious, but I’m sure he’s pretty sore.”

As a team, Florida made just 13 field goals and four three-point shots. The Gators were also outrebounded by the Volunteers and their 13 turnovers were nearly double what Tennessee suffered in the game.

From Todd Golden’s perspective, missing Walter Clayton was also a blow to the morale of the team. In particular, it did impact his teammates.

“I would imagine, yes. Obviously, he’s a great player, one of our leaders, and you lose him in the middle of a game,” Golden said. “And he was fighting for us, tried to come back and compete for his teammates, but he was obviously not himself all the way when he did come back. But I appreciate him trying and I know his teammates did as well.”

The Florida Gators are going to need to bounce back quickly in a highly competitive SEC. Their next game is scheduled for Tuesday against Vanderbilt, who is currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Then, next Saturday, the Gators will travel to top-ranked Auburn. So, getting Walter Clayton at full strength as quickly as possible is going to be vital for Florida.