UPDATE: CJ Fredrick has "minor procedure" done on nagging leg injury

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

New Kentucky Wildcat CJ Fredrick has been dealt another setback. Ryan Lemond just reported on Kentucky Sports Radio that the Iowa transfer had surgery this morning to repair a broken leg. The details of the injury are unknown, as is the timetable for his return.

The timing is especially unfortunate for Fredrick, who transferred to Kentucky from Iowa in May. The 6’3″ sharpshooter missed several games last season due to plantar fasciitis. As a freshman, he also missed six games with a stress reaction in his left foot. This summer, he was finally back to full health.

“I had a really tough injury this past year,” Fredrick told reporters in June. “It was just something really naggy. I had plantar fasciitis in my left foot and it mentally and physically took a lot out of me. Waking up in the morning trying to take a step and I’m kinda collapsing. That’s tough. I’m trying to practice then play. It took a lot out of me mentally. Just being in the training room all day.”

Fredrick was named 2018 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year after leading Covington Catholic to the state championship and a 35-4 record. He averaged 23.1 points per game in his senior season at CovCath and shot 48.4% from 3-point range. At Iowa, he averaged 8.8 points per game in 52 appearances. After redshirting in 2018-19, Fredrick made 47 3-pointers during the 2019-20 season and averaged 10.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 7.5 points per game and made 36 threes but was limited in the second half of the season with the previously mentioned injury.

Get well soon, CJ.

UPDATE: At 1:45 p.m., John Calipari tweeted that Fredrick did have a procedure done this morning, but it was only minor and he should be good to go when the season starts.

CJ Fredrick expected to be “ready to go” for season-opener following “minor procedure”

UPDATE PT. 2: Sources tell KSR’s Jack Pilgrim that Fredrick underwent surgery on a preexisting leg injury early Monday morning, one that will not only have him back in time for the team’s season-opener in November, but well before preseason action begins this fall.

“Sources tell KSR that Monday’s surgery was done not to repair a new injury, but instead fix a lingering issue stemming from his time at Iowa,” Pilgrim reported. “After a successful start to his time in Lexington – Fredrick had dedicated his first month-plus on campus to getting back in game shape and transforming his body, already losing ten pounds since his arrival – the nagging leg injury resurfaced midway through last week and the redshirt junior decided to get it checked out by team doctors. The lower-leg issue wasn’t painful, but there was growing irritation.”

Everything you need to know about the injury, surgery and expectations regarding a return:

What you need to know about CJ Fredrick’s injury, surgery and timeline for return