Cason Wallace, CJ Fredrick not ruled out (or in) at Arkansas

Kentucky is dealing with the injury bug at the wrong time. Sahvir Wheeler is out for the foreseeable future after undergoing a minor procedure this week, while Cason Wallace (ankle) and CJ Fredrick (rib) are banged up.

Could all three be out when the Wildcats take the floor inside Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Saturday? Unfortunately, it’s a possibility — but not confirmed either way.

Wallace went down two minutes into the second half vs. Vanderbilt with an ankle injury and was later ruled out. John Calipari said after the loss early X-rays came back clean and his star freshman’s ankle wasn’t swollen.

“We’ll see. I’m hoping he’ll be okay for Saturday but I don’t know,” Calipari said. “And if not, we’ve got to figure out how we do it against pressure (against the Razorbacks).”

How is Wallace feeling just 24 hours before tip-off in Fayetteville? Has he returned to the practice floor?

“Well, we haven’t done a lot of basketball activities period. Usually after a night game, the next day, we don’t do much on the floor,” associate head coach Bruiser Flint said of the freshman guard. “So he’s just been getting treatment and then we’ll see how it goes. We just got everybody to Arkansas so we’re gonna practice this afternoon so we’ll see how he is.”

As for Fredrick, who is dealing with a cracked rib and played through pain vs. Auburn and Vanderbilt, his status remains up in the air, as well. Forced to play an expanded role with Wallace going down — 28 minutes after just seven against the Tigers — the senior guard’s availability will be decided over the next 24 hours.

If the pain levels out a bit, he’ll fight through and play. If not, he could be out.

“He’s just battling a tough injury,” Flint said. “He knows he’s going to get hit, knows it’s going to affect him at times. But he’s a tough kid, battles through things. He’s been injured a little bit this season. If he’s feeling it, if he feels good — that’s one thing about him, he’s going to give it a chance. He’ll get out there if he can.”

Neither player has been ruled out completely, but both are fighting through some real pain and could find themselves unable to go in the finale. It could create a scenario where Antonio Reeves is forced to play point guard, with Adou Thiero being the only other ball handler on the roster.

Things could get wonky inside Bud Walton.