Dave Van Horn blunt about Arkansas injuries: 'We're the walking wounded'

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn didn’t mince words regarding the Razorbacks’ injury concerns. More players were dropping like flies, but they rolled on.

Van Horn and crew won two in a row against Texas, the top ranked team in the country, to win their series this week. They’ll conclude Saturday afternoon.

That makes it all the more impressive that Van Horn and crew are winning. Especially with injuries to Carson Wiggins and Logan Maxwell.

“We’re the walking wounded right now,” Van Horn said. “It’s amazing, so we just keep playing with who we got.”

Arkansas jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, giving the visiting Longhorns all they could handle in a 9-1 game Friday. Texas mustered just one run in the fourth inning.

Positive news was provided via an initial MRI on Wiggins, an important pitcher for Arkansas. However, Van Horn says a second one will take place to provide a “more thorough look” at the injury. Elbow injuries are to be taken seriously with pitchers and Wiggins is no different.

“He’s going to get another MRI today just to double check everything,” Van Horn said Wednesday. “The first one came back positive. So now, we’re going to have another one today that includes a little more thorough look.”

A few moments later, Van Horn was asked for further information on what was behind the positive report. It’s more so for Wiggins, personally, than Arkansas itself. Van Horn implied Wiggins might be out for the rest of the year, no matter what the second MRI goes on to show.

“It means it’s not torn, as of now,” Van Horn said. “It might be today when we do the dye test. It doesn’t mean he’s going to pitch again this year, even if it’s not. It just means if there’s a strain, you let it heal, you rehab, and pitch when he’s ready. If there’s a nerve issue or something jumped out, you just deal with it. So, we don’t know anything yet. We just know the MRI came in positive, it didn’t show a tear.”

In an injury update ahead of the series against Texas, Van Horn also revealed the grim outlook for Maxwell. There was still a chance he went, but was going to be limited.

“He’ll be available, but he’s not doing much right now,” Van Horn said. “So, that’s where we are with him. He might be able to play during the series sometime. Might be able to just hit, pinch-hit. I don’t know about playing in the outfield yet. But, yeah, he’s down.”