Calipari clarifies rumors of Terrence Clarke’s injury: “He has an injury that he cannot play.”

Calipari clarifies rumors of Terrence Clarke’s injury: “He has an injury that he cannot play.”

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In most cases, news of injuries is received with sadness and sympathy, especially for significant long-term cases. When Kentucky coach John Calipari announced on Monday evening that freshman guard Terrence Clarke would miss at least four weeks with an ankle injury, the news was met with confusion, skepticism and frustration.

Superficially, curiosity had nothing to do with Clarke as a player or person, but more so with the way Calipari handled the injury and the inconsistent updates that fans have received since the freshman guard injured his ankle in December.

Initially, he sprained his ankle in practice before the Kentucky game against Notre Dame on December 12, but was able to play despite the injury. He aggravated the injury against North Carolina and then played against Louisville with “80 percent, perhaps”, with Calipari comparing the injury to the ankle injury of Ashton Hagans, who he faced in 2019-20. Thereafter, Clarke missed Kentucky games in Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Florida, Alabama and Auburn before Calipari announced that he would miss the next “10-day week” on January 18. And again on January 27, said UK coach Clarke was still “a few games away” from returning to the ground.

Frustrations within the fan base were consistent as inconsistencies increased, but reached new heights last week when Calipari told reporters “there is nothing wrong” with Clarke’s MRI results, leading to speculation that the ex-five star candidate may not be hurt. And then, just five days later, hell broke out when the UK coach announced that Clarke’s season was likely to end.

“You know, Terrence wants to play so badly, we want him to play, I want him to play. I want to train him and put him on that court, ”said Calipari on Monday night. “There were tears today (Monday), mine and his. His tears were, it seems they want him out for four weeks. Maybe something can happen sooner, but they don’t believe it. It is overwhelming for these children. When we took Keion (Brooks Jr.), I had to follow the documents, you know me well enough.

“Here’s one thing I want to say to the fans again. They know your pain, they know your pain threshold. We were, again, in a situation, they said he would be able to try. I said, “He left a tonne. How will this work? ”And bang. “

Unsurprisingly, the legitimacy and seriousness of Clarke’s injury was questioned by the fan base, especially considering the updates that Calipari has offered since mid-December.

When asked about the fights of the season and the continued struggle of the players, despite Kentucky’s 5-13 start, Calipari doubled that – whether fans choose to be skeptical or not – Clarke also did not give up and his injury is legitimate and serious.

“I mean this, and I need everyone to hear it and our fans to hear it: the medical people, I won’t be specific about what is wrong, but he (Terrence Clarke) has an injury that he cannot play”Said Calipari. “So everyone on this team, he cried. I cried. Because he’s gone four more weeks.

“So it’s not like nobody wants to play. He should be our best player. We didn’t have it, and now, you look at this team, I’m proud that they are fighting. We still make mistakes and do some things. “

Despite the difficult injury and watching from the outside as the losses pile up, freshman guard Brandon Boston Jr. says Clarke is doing his best to stay positive.

“He’s just trying to stay positive throughout this thing,” he said. “There is a lot of adversity and hatred this year. We just protect ourselves and tell each other to just smile despite everything. ”

In seven games this season, Clarke averaged 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 31.3 minutes per contest.

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