Clayton Jr. "Questionable" for Tuesday's Matchup vs. Vanderbilt

The star guard suffered an injury in the loss to Tennessee on Saturday.

Feb 1, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) brings the ball up court against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With just under 24 hours until the No. 6 Florida Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores share the court in Gainesville, the initial availability report from both sides have been submitted with a notable player from Florida listed.

Star point guard Walter Clayton Jr. is listed as “questionable” following an ankle injury suffered in Saturday's loss to Tennessee.

Clayton Jr. injured his left ankle making a jump pass near the end of the first half against Tennessee. After completing the pass to the opposite side of the court, he came down on a player’s foot, which caused him to head to the locker room before the half ended. 

Florida’s star did return to the game to begin the second half and would play most of the half, but did not look the same as his usual self. 

Clayton Jr. will have had only Sunday and Monday to rehab this injury well enough to play on Tuesday, and head coach Todd Golden gave an update on when they’ll know if he’s good to go or not. 

“Obviously he's been knocking out his rehab and it's recovering, he's moving around pretty well, but we'll kind of take it hour by hour right now, see how it goes this afternoon in practice,” Gators head coach Todd Golden told the media on Monday. “And I think tomorrow, when he wakes up, will be a big determining on if he goes tomorrow night or not."

Should he not green light his return, then junior Denzel Aberdeen would be the most likely player to replace Clayton Jr. 

The Gators other player listed is center Micah Handlogten, who is expected to medically redshirt this season after flirting with the idea of returning from a serious ankle injury suffered last season

As for the Gators' opponents, the Commodores have two players listed on the report in Alex Hemenway and Tyler Nickel. 

Hemenway is listed as “out” for the Commodores on Tuesday. He transferred to Vanderbilt from Clemson this summer, but has yet to play a game this campaign for his new team. 

Nickel is listed as “probable” for the contest. It is presumed he’s still dealing with a left ankle injury that he sustained in Vanderbilt’s last game. However, he did manage to return to the court during that game. 

Tuesday's battle between these two is scheduled to tip at 7 pm and will be televised on SEC Network.