Kentucky basketball injury updates: Teonni Key nearing possible return, Braydon Hawthorne dealing with calf injury

2 hours ago

Hallie DeVore,

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Injuries are a common hurdle for basketball teams during the middle of the season. Here’s where the Wildcats stand with their injured players.

Women’s basketball

Teonni Key: Key is recovering from a dislocated elbow suffered in the Jan. 4 game against Missouri. The Wildcats have lost four of their last six games since she left the lineup. After the loss to Georgia on Saturday, head coach Kenny Brooks said Key was able to avoid surgery and expressed optimism about her return. “She’s been doing some drills and shooting and stuff like that,” Brooks said. “So we’re obviously going to take it as slow as possible to make sure that she’s there for the long haul. But there is optimism, especially considering where we were three weeks ago from tomorrow.”

Dominika Paurová: Out indefinitely after tearing her ACL in October.

Men’s basketball

Jaland Lowe: Out for the season with a shoulder injury. Head coach Mark Pope said after the win over Ole Miss that Lowe is headed for surgery. “J. Lowe is on his way to get surgery with a surgeon we trust in a different part of the country that our medical crew sent him to,” Pope said.

Kam Williams: Out indefinitely with a broken foot suffered in the win over Texas. Pope added after the Ole Miss win that Williams’ surgery was successful. “Surgery was perfect yesterday,” Pope said. “We saw all the imaging, and it was unbelievable, by a world-renowned surgeon.”

Jayden Quaintance: Dealing with ongoing swelling in his surgically repaired knee.

Braydon Hawthorne: There has been discussion about Hawthorne potentially burning his redshirt season amid team injuries. However, Pope said after Saturday’s win over Ole Miss that Hawthorne is dealing with a calf injury. “We can’t burn the redshirt now, because he’s not healthy,” Pope said. “But he is an incredibly talented player who could really help us down the road. We’ll see. He’s got to get healthy first.”