Lamont Butler injury update: Report reveals how close Kentucky guard came to return vs. Alabama

Kentucky will be without Lamont Butler Friday night against Alabama in the SEC tournament, but it turns out he could have played, according to head coach Mark Pope. He told ESPN’s Molly McGrath that if it was the championship game, Butler would have likely been able to suit up after suffering an injury against Oklahoma.

Butler went down with a shoulder injury in Thursday’s thrilling victory over OU and didn’t return. He underwent imaging during the game, Pope said at halftime, leading to concern about whether he aggravated a nagging shoulder issue.

However, McGrath reported it was a different injury this time. In addition, Pope didn’t rule Butler out for the remainder of the SEC tournament and the program is hopeful he can return for March Madness.

“Kentucky guard Lamont Butler is out for this game with a left shoulder injury sustained in last night’s game, but head coach Mark Pope said imaging results came back this morning with very positive news,” McGrath said to open the SEC Network broadcast. “He said Butler suffered a different injury than the one he’s been nursing.

“They expect a quick turnaround for his recovery, saying if this was the championship game, he would be playing. And he wouldn’t rule Butler out if they advance this weekend. But they’re hopeful he can return, definitely, for the NCAA tournament.”

Butler is one of the biggest keys for Kentucky and a centerpiece of the backcourt. He leads the Wildcats with 4.3 assists while adding 11.5 points and shooting 36.2% from three-point territory.

Butler has been dealing with a shoulder injury since January and later missed time due to the issue. He returned in February, but got hurt just two games later before coming back Feb. 26. He was able to play the last four games of the regular season, but didn’t make it through a half in the SEC tournament after suffering his latest ailment.

As for what the imaging results said, Pope didn’t get into specifics before the game. However, he teased Kentucky got welcome news.

“We got the best possible news about Lamont, so he’s gonna be in good shape but we’re gonna sit him tonight just to make sure,” Pope said. “It’d probably be a stretch to get him tonight because he’s got some soreness but it was really good news this morning and so we look forward to having him as we move forward. Everybody wants so badly to have a chance to compete and we want him, for him and for us, to be able to compete. We’re going to go with [Travis Perry] tonight in the starting lineup.”