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Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson injury updates: Mark Pope casts grim outlook for Kentucky stars

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•02/12/25•

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Feb 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to the action during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to the action during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Even after a big win against Tennessee, injuries are once again a big storyline for Kentucky. That is the case with two of the Wildcats’ biggest guys, Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson. One was a reaggravation during Tuesday’s game while another was a pregame decision.

Head coach Mark Pope gave an update during his postgame press conference, beginning with Robinson. The BYU transfer was seen with a brace on his right wrist. Pope does not seem to have a positive outlook on Robinson’s future, saying Kentucky might be without him for a long stretch.

“I’m not sure we’re going to get him back anytime soon,” Pope said. “But I’m hoping, I’m praying that we get him back sooner.”

No timeline was provided on Robinson but as the regular season ends, Kentucky will be hoping to get him back for the postseason. Not just the SEC Tournament but more importantly, the NCAA Tournament. Robinson averages 13.3 points per game and is an incredible shooter from deep, making 38.1% of his three-point attempts.

In the short term, Butler’s health might be the most important of them all. A left shoulder forced one of Kentucky’s only point guards to miss multiple games. Finally getting back against Tennessee, diving for a loose ball saw Butler awkwardly land on the shoulder once again.

Pope says Kentucky will “patchwork” things with Butler moving forward to make sure the injury does not get worse.

“Lamont’s was super scary,” Pope said. “It was right in front of me. He went down and the second he went down, you could kind of see as he extended out that it just torqued his shoulder a little bit. Exactly what we didn’t want to do… We’ll patchwork it together, keep figuring it out. I think he was brilliant tonight.”

Point guard injuries have piled up for Kentucky with Butler being the most devastating. He goes for 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. What does not show up in the stat sheet is Butler’s great defensive efforts, usually against the opposing team’s best guards.

If there is one player Pope could bring back to no health with a snap of the fingers, it might be Butler.

UK is back on the court Saturday, heading to Austin for a showdown against Texas. Seven games remain in the regular season and three of those are against currently ranked teams. A difficult stretch is upcoming and losing Butler plus Robinson certainly does not help.