Andrew Carr injury update: Mark Pope offers newest timeline on return for Kentucky forward

Andrew Carr (back) was unavailable for No. 9 Kentucky during its 74-69 upset loss to unranked Vanderbilt on the road Saturday.

Heading into a pivotal week in the Wildcats’ schedule, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is labeling his veteran big man as “day-by-day” moving forward.

“I’ve probably done a bad job with [Carr],” Pope said after the loss. “He wants to play so bad and we were just kind of seeing a decline in his performance because there’s just so much he can’t do with his back. We were trending the wrong direction.

“Injuries are hard. These calls are really hard. What we’re hoping is that we can get to a space sometime in the next few weeks, the next few days, somewhere where we have enough confidence. He hasn’t practiced in a couple weeks. And every game it’s kind of like, he just gets beat up so bad it’s back to square one, where it’s hard for him to walk essentially.”

Carr, who averages 10.9 points per game for the Wildcats, was replaced in the lineup by Ansley Almonor. The senior forward went on to finish the game with 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting from behind the 3-point line while also grabbing four rebounds.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 14-5 on the season having lost its last two games. They’ll likely see a significant drop in their AP Top 25 ranking by the timen Kentucky has to travel to No. 6 Tennessee on Tuesday. That all comes before longtime UK head coach John Calipari and his Arkansas Razorbacks head to Rupp Arena for one of the most anticipated matchups of the 2024-25 season on Saturday.

These pivotal gams all come at a time where Carr’s back is still bothering him, and it’s unclear whether he will be able to return in time for either game.

“We’re hoping that with more time we can get him to some sustainable place where he can endure a practice and endure a game and not be back to zero,” Pope continued. “But, we’ll see if that actually happens.

“It’s complicated. You’re dealing in percentages. You’re not dealing in guarantees. We just thought we’d take a swing at this and we’ll kind of gauge him tomorrow and gauge him Monday.”