Report: CJ Fredrick Expected to Miss 'a Few Weeks" Due to Finger Dislocation

The Kentucky shooting guard suffered the injury in the Wildcats' 89-75 loss to Missouri on Wednesday night in Columbia.

Kentucky basketball was hit hard by injuries in the beginning of the season, but nearly managed to get through the first third of the 2022-23 campaign without losing a piece to the puzzle for any long period of time. 

Nearly...managed. 

Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio reported on Friday that redshirt senior shooting guard CJ Fredrick is expected to miss a few weeks due to finger dislocation suffered in the Wildcats' 89-75 loss at Missouri on Wednesday. Pilgrim also reported that there was no ligament damage in Fredrick's finger:

CJ Fredrick is expected to be out “a few weeks” with a finger dislocation, source tells KSR

No ligament damage, which would have kept him out as long as two months.

Overall solid injury report for a player Kentucky needs to get rolling during SEC play

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) December 30, 2022

The news is somewhat positive for the sharpshooter, though it's another injury to add to his collegiate catalogue. 

After transferring back near home from Iowa, Fredrick suffered a left hamstring injury during layup lines before UK's season-opening game against Duke at Madison Square Garden.

He would miss the entire season, thus beginning the quest to make it back on the court. He would successfully rehab and was 100 percent moving into the 2022-23 regular season. 

After playing less than four minutes in the Mizzou loss, Fredrick would catch a pass that appeared to jam one or more of his fingers on his right hand. He would pass the ball away to the corner but then quickly looked down to see what had happened. During the ensuing timeout, he would be taken back to the locker room. The SEC Network broadcast showed Fredrick grimacing in what looked to be immense pain in the moment.

He would return to the bench before the end of the half with his right pinky and ring finger taped together heavily. The broadcast claimed that he was cleared to return, but that would not be the case, as he did not return to the game. He was officially ruled out in the second half and was later seen with a splint over his right ring and middle finger.

Fredrick is averaging 7.3 points-per-game and is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. He entered Wednesday night having made multiple shots in just two of his last seven games. 

More on Kentucky's loss to Mizzou here.

More on John Calipari's postgame comments here.

Game notes from the loss can be found here.

Shelton's latest column on the Wildcats can be found here.

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