David Oke injury update: Bobby Petrino reveals unfortunate news on Arkansas DL

Arkansas got unfortunate news on the injury front on Monday from interim head coach Bobby Petrino. Defensive lineman David Oke appears to be out for the season.

Oke has been in and out of the lineup for Arkansas with a knee injury. He missed the first two games of the season, then returned to play in three more before the injury flared up on him again. He had missed time again after Week 5.

On Monday, Petrino was once more asked if David Oke might be able to suit up, this time against Mississippi State. He unveiled the unfortunate reality, though he did not elaborate much.

“No, I don’t think,” Petrino said. “I don’t think he’ll be back with us.”

That comes just one week after Petrino revealed David Oke wouldn’t be able to play against Auburn. That news came despite one of his counterparts on the defensive line, Danny Saili, faring better.

“I feel like Danny’s going to be good to go, knock on wood,” Petrino had said last week. “He should be in a situation where he can come out and play and help us. We’re looking for that. Oke will not be available.”

Petrino addresses possibility of locker room split

David Oke news aside, Arkansas suffered a sixth straight loss on Saturday, falling to Auburn 33-24. A once promising outlook on the season has all but collapsed.

And if there was any hope that the dumping of head coach Sam Pittman might spark the team, that hope has faded by this point. It’s to the point that you have to wonder if the Razorbacks, who have remained competitive over the last three games, might start to quit.

In fact, a reporter posed exactly that question to Petrino on Saturday. It’s something he’s thought about.

“I mean we talked about it,” Petrino said. “We talked about when you lose it always challenges your attitude and your work ethic and how you’re going to respond to it. Everybody in that room is still working hard at trying to make their brand better.

“I expect them to come out and continue to work hard and do that and have a good attitude. I think defensively they’ve got to build on what they did today and work on it. And offensively we’ve got to get back to work and back to how we play.”