Tennessee basketball wing Cam Carr is out for an extended amount of time after suffering a left thumb injury in Tennessee’s victory over Austin Peay last Sunday in Knoxville, KnoxNews’ Mike Wilson and Volquest’s Grant Ramey first reported on Thursday and a Tennessee spokesperson confirmed to RTI.
The small forward will miss approximately 4-6 weeks with the injury before ideally returning to the court near the start of SEC play.
Carr’s hand was bent backwards on a play in the second half before he exiting the game with just over seven minutes left and not returning. The sophomore wing was not at Tennessee basketball’s practice open to the media on Tuesday.
Tennessee plays two games in two days, starting with a matchup against Virginia tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET before facing either St. John’s and Baylor on Friday night in the final game of the event.
The 6-foot-5 wing is averaging 4.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.3 minutes minutes per game this season. Carr is a talented young player who is looking to earn more consistent playing time by being more consistent on the defensive end of the court.
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Injuries have been a major issue for Tennessee basketball early this season. Transfer forward Darlinstone Dubar has yet to play this season while dealing with a “personal matter.” However, Dubar returned to practice last week for Tennessee and did team work during the Vols’ practice open to the media on Tuesday.
Dubar seemingly nearing a return to the court comes at a perfect time. A 6-foot-6 forward, Dubar plays the four and the three-spot. With Carr out for an extended amount of time, Dubar will get a lot more opportunities than he would have gotten otherwise.
Sophomore center JP Estrella is also banged up with a left foot injury and is day-to-day ahead of the Baha Mar Championship. It’s the same left foot injury that plagued Estrella for most of the offseason and led to him being limited for most of the preseason.
Estrella played in Tennessee’s first three games of the season before missing the Austin Peay game with the injury. His status for the Baha Mar Championship is uncertain at the time of publication.
With Tennessee only having 11 scholarship players on its roster, the Vols could have only eight-to-nine scholarship players available in the Bahamas over the next two days depending on Estrella and Dubar’s status.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Virginia is at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night in the Bahamas. CBS Sports Network is broadcasting the game.
