John Calipari updates Oscar Tshiebwe's rehab, timetable for return to action

Basketball season is right upon us and all eyes in Lexington are on the health of Wildcat center Oscar Tshiebwe. The reigning National Player of the Year and unanimous AP Preseason All-American had a minor procedure on his knee earlier this month. With Kentucky’s season tipping off on November 7th, John Calipari provided the latest update on his star player during the program’s Media Day today.

As of now, Calipari says there’s still no official timetable yet for Tshiebwe’s return. It’s all about management at the moment and keeping Tshiebwe off his feet when possible.

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“I don’t know. (Oscar’s) moving pretty good. He’s moving around. Got to stay off his feet. (Oscar) will stand and sign autographs, take pictures. Well, he’s got to stay off his feet,” said Calipari. “When he trains, it may swell a little bit but it’ll go away. For the time being, that’s what it is. He’ll train, it’ll swell a little bit, and it’ll go away.”

Tshiebwe was unable to participate in either of Kentucky’s preseason outings thus far with Big Blue Madness or the Blue-White scrimmage in Pikeville, KY. With their exhibition season starting this weekend, the question is will we see Tshiebwe by the start of the regular season? Well, per Kyle Tucker of The Athletic, Tshiebwe says himself that there’s no doubt in his mind he’ll be back for Kentucky’s opener against Howard on November 7th.

Oscar Tshiebwe says his knee is “feeling great.” Says he will “absolutely” be ready for the opener. pic.twitter.com/NqEkejN16H

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) October 25, 2022

That’s simply Tshiebwe’s diagnosis, though. The real call will come from Calipari and the medical staff monitoring him at UK. Still, Calipari says Tshiebwe continues to tell him how good he feels. Considering his size, though, he also wants to play it safe in how they bring him back to the floor.

“He’s telling me, ‘I feel really good. My leg feels good. I don’t have the same pain that was there.’ He said it wasn’t as much but there’s nothing now. It’s more that he’s got to go through it,” Calipari said. “My thing is we’re not going to hold him back, but we’re not going to push him forward either. His pace and timing may be different than someone else. Someone else may be longer, someone else may be shorter. But I do know he’s 252 pounds. He’s big. 7% body fat on top of it (too).”

Kentucky has a pair of exhibitions and two games versus Howard and Duquesne before they really kick off the year at the Champion’s Classic in Indianapolis against Michigan State. The Wildcats want Tshiebwe back as soon as possible but that November 15th date with the Spartans is the real date they have circled. Nonetheless, the early signs and suggestions from media day point towards the Wildcats not having to worry about Tshiebwe’s availability for too much longer.