Dave Van Horn admits Kendall Diggs is battling an injury from bad slide

Arkansas outfielder Kendall Diggs has been in a bit of a funk as of late. As it turns out, there’s a reason for that.

Diggs has been battling an injury, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn shared ahead of this weekend’s series against Mississippi State.

Diggs suffered the injury while sliding during a game against McNeese State in March, just before the start of SEC play.

“The biggest issue is that he’s hurt,” Van Horn said of Kendall Diggs’ recent struggles. “I mean he hurt himself sliding head first on a field that had a little too much water on it in the first inning. And he stuck, basically, and he hurt his left shoulder, non-throwing arm.

“Didn’t really say a whole lot about it, although we were really worried about it when it happened, because I’ve seen that a dozen times. Usually something happens, usually a tear. And it pops out, pops in.”

Diggs is hitting .247 with six home runs and 32 RBIs on the year, after hitting .299 with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs last season.

The junior had started feeling better recently, before aggravating the shoulder injury last weekend against Kentucky. Now Dave Van Horn isn’t certain that Kendall Diggs will be able to suit up this weekend.

“When he hit the wall the other day in the first inning against Kentucky in Game 3, and the ball went off the top of the wall and bounced out, he fell down. It’s bothering him again,” Van Horn said. “We’re not sure if he’s going to start [Friday] or not. The pain started to go away, and he hits the wall again. So he’s dealing with that.”

There’s no doubt that Kendall Diggs can be a difference maker when he’s healthy and swinging the bat well, but when he’s struggling and not healthy, Van Horn would rather see someone else in the lineup.

His message to Diggs ahead of this weekend’s pivotal SEC series is to be honest about where he is from a health standpoint.

“I just want him to be up-front with me and tell me he’s pain free or I don’t want to play him. That’s my thing. I want him to not have any mental, something lurking in there thinking — ‘I can’t swing at that pitch, I can’t hit that pitch and that’s why I’m not hitting that pitch.’ I’d rather play somebody else,” Van Horn said.

“As of yesterday, in our workout, he didn’t swing. I had him doing some other things, playing defense. … He said it’s feeling a lot better.”