Kentucky star Jaxson Robinson to miss rest of season for already short-handed Wildcats with wrist injury

Jaxson Robinson, Kentucky’s second-leading scorer, will undergo wrist surgery next week and is expected to miss the rest of the season, UK coach Mark Pope announced Saturday. Pope said a “final conclusion” was reached Friday that surgery was the right move for Robinson, who missed four games in February due to the injury.

“There’s just no way that he’s going to be able to play,”  Pope said.

The 6-6 guard returned for UK’s 83-82 win at Oklahoma on Wednesday but played just 12 minutes in that contest and re-aggravated the injury. The No. 17 Wildcats played without Robinson in Saturday’s 94-78 loss to No. 1 Auburn as he wore street clothes and a brace on his hand.

“When he went down, we kind of knew he was going to need surgery,” Pope said. “But he just wanted so badly to play that he rehabbed it and had an injection to try and make it functional. He was doing OK and then he went down in the first half at Oklahoma.”

Robinson started all 24 games he played this season after transferring from BYU to follow Pope. He is averaging 13 points on 37.6% 3-point shooting, and UK is 3-0 when he scores 20 or more. His most memorable outing for the Wildcats was a 27-point outburst that included seven made 3-pointers in a January victory at Mississippi State.

Pope said the procedure is scheduled for Wednesday and that it takes three months for a full recovery. That means UK will have to chart a course forward without one of its top offensive weapons at a time when other players are also banged up.

Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler, who is dealing with a nagging left shoulder injury, played for a second consecutive game against Auburn and logged 32 minutes while wearing a bulky brace. But his effectiveness continues to be limited as he finished with 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting with five turnovers and no assists.

Forward Andrew Carr has also been dealing with a lingering back issue for much of the season that has limited his effectiveness, although he scored 20 points against the Tigers. Another point guard, former Arizona and West Virginia sharpshooter Kerr Kriisa, has been out since early December with a foot injury. The Wildcats (19-10, 8-8 SEC) entered Saturday’s action as a projected No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.