Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes updated Felix Okpara’s injury status on Friday, but didn’t exactly clear up whether or not the senior forward will take the floor on Saturday when the Volunteers travel to Lexington to face Kentucky.
“We’ll see when we practice,” Barnes told the media early Friday. “We’ll see. He hadn’t done anything. Last night when I left, he said he was feeling a little bit better, but it’ll be based on if he does anything today in practice.”
Later in the day, Okpara dressed for practice, a first since he injured his left calf against Georgia on January 28. Okpara has missed Tennessee’s last two games and has been replaced in the starting lineup by freshman DeWayne Brown II.
Felix Okpara (calf) is dressed out for practice but does not appear to be a full participant in warm-ups. #Vols
— Sam Granville (@samgranvilletv) February 6, 2026
Barnes said he will practice today and we’ll see if he’s ready to go tomorrow at Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/4l7w3A0mrT
According to observers in Knoxville, including Sam Granville of 6News, Okpara was a limited participant in practice on Friday. According to reports, Okpara did not participate in Thursday’s practice. The initial SEC Availability Report will be released on Friday night, with the pregame availability report to be updated Saturday evening before the 8:30 p.m. ET tip.
Felix Okpara a limited participant in Friday practice
With Okpara sidelined for the past two games, Tennessee has notched wins over Auburn and Ole Miss, beating the Rebels 84-66 in Knoxville on Tuesday night behind 28 points from freshman forward Nate Ament. In 22 minutes, Brown scored five points and grabbed three rebounds.
Senior guard Amaraee Abram also missed that Tuesday night win with flu-like symptoms. Barnes didn’t provide much more clarity about his status for Saturday. The Louisiana Tech transfer plays 12 minutes a game and averages 3.8 points.
“He hasn’t been back,” Barnes said. “I think he’s supposed to be back today, but he didn’t practice. Obviously didn’t play (against Ole Miss). He wasn’t around us. We kept him kind of quarantined from everybody.”
Whether or not Okpara and Abram return, Tennessee will be much closer to full strength than its counterpart. Kentucky has been without starting point guard Jaland Lowe and starting center for much of the year, including last month’s win over the Vols in Knoxville, and recently lost starting wing Kam Williams to a foot injury.