Lamont Butler injury update: Mark Pope reveals where Kentucky guard stands physically

This season, guard Lamont Butler has proven that he’s vital to the success of the Kentucky Wildcats. So, in a game like the loss to Vanderbilt, it stands out when he struggles in his play and almost seems to be dealing with a physical issue.

After the game, head coach Mark Pope addressed Lamont Butler’s health and shared a bit of an injury update on him. Without getting into any specifics about Butler, he did share that he has been battling and it’s been hard physically.

“Yeah, Lamont has got a lot right now,” Mark Pope said. “We all know what a warrior he is. Man, he is giving us everything he’s got right now but It’s hard for him, physically, right now.”

In the loss, Lamont Butler turned the ball over six times. That matched his season high, which he previously had in the Texas A&M game. He did that while only scoring six points and being limited to two assists. That’s from a player who is averaging 13.2 points and 4.8 assists per game this season.

Mark Pope wasn’t shocking anyone to share that Lamont Butler is battling a few issues to be on the court. He was a game-time decision against Alabama with a shoulder issue. That was a game that he played in but now it seems as though there might still be some issues that he’s battling with it.

After the Alabama game, which was another close loss for Kentucky, Mark Pope explained what Lamont Butler has been dealing with and made sure to praise him.

“We didn’t know. He hasn’t done any contact. At breakfast this morning, I saw him lift his arm a little bit. I don’t know, maybe he could go. I thought he gave a really heroic effort and played well and we need to get him as healthy as quick as we can. Lamont is just a winner, man,” Pope said.

“He kind of gave us everything he had today. He hasn’t practiced, hasn’t really even moved his arm for the last two days. And we put him through the early warm-ups, and he felt like he was going to give it a shot, and then, we rolled him out there to the second warm-up and he was like, ‘No, I’m OK.’ He was kind of hiding that left arm a little bit, but what an incredibly courageous effort. Thirty-two minutes and eight assists to one turnover and a really difficult defensive assignment. It’ll be great to get him back to full speed, but man, he gave us everything he had today.”

Kentucky has now dropped two games in a row and three of its last five in SEC play. Mark Pope and the Wildcats now things don’t get easier from here with the Tennessee Volunteers slated for Tuesday night. So, getting Lamont Butler as healthy as possible for that game is going to be a priority.