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Florida point guard Walter Clayton ruled out against Vanderbilt with ankle injury

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp02/04/25
Dec 4, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) smiles while sitting on the floor after making a three point basket against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Dec 4, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) smiles while sitting on the floor after making a three point basket against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida will be without starting point guard Walter Clayton for tonight’s game against Vanderbilt, the program announced on Twitter about an hour before gametime.

Clayton is dealing with a left ankle sprain and had been listed as a game-time decision on the SEC’s mandatory availability report.

The talented guard suffered an injury in a game against Tennessee over the weekend, though he played through it. He was clearly limited.

“Obviously we avoided anything too serious, which is awesome,” coach Todd Golden said of Walter Clayton on Monday. “He definitely tweaked his ankle pretty good there in the first half. Second half, slipped in front of our bench. I don’t think there was anything added on because of that. Just kind of a fluky deal.

“Obviously, he’s been knocking out his rehab and is recovering. He’s moving around pretty well, but we’ll take it hour by hour right now and see how it goes this afternoon in practice. I think tomorrow when he wakes up will be a big determinant in if he goes tomorrow night or not.”

Walter Clayton suffered the sprain at the 1:07 mark of the first half against Tennessee, could not put pressure on his ankle and went to straight to the locker room.

He returned to the lineup to start the second half, spent time riding a bike after subbing out the first time and then checked out for good when he slipped.

Clayton finished with a team-high 10 points — all in the first half before his injury. He also extended his UF record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 44. 

Walter Clayton leads the team in scoring for the second straight season and has averaged 17.8 points during SEC play. He’s two points from joining Florida’s 1,000-point club.

Tip between the No. 6 Gators (18-3, 5-3 SEC) and Commodores (16-5, 4-4 SEC) is at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

On3’s Zach Abolverdi also contributed to this report.