Mark Pope shared a not-so-good update on Jayden Quaintance's status

Have we seen the last of Jayden Quaintance at Kentucky?

Jan 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Jayden Quaintance (21) reacts after a play during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball is going on nearly a month-and-a-half without having star big man Jayden Quaintance on the floor. Following his return from an ACL injury that he suffered in February of 2025, the big man made his return in an exciting debut performance against St. John's. Quaintance followed that up with three more games before having not played since due to knee swelling.

After going into 'full-shutdown' mode as Pope put it a few weeks ago, he returned to a very light rehab space last week. Now, a week later, Quaintance still has not returned to the practice floor, and based on Pope's comments from Thursday, it doesn't sound promising that he will anytime soon.

"He is not ready right now. He's not ready and, and we're not gonna roll him out there till he's 100%. He's gotta be 100% ready," Pope said on Quaintance. ",..We haven't incorporated him back into practice. And so that's complicated. I don't know how optimistic I am about that. Like I said, he's making great progress, but with a guy as explosive as he is, he's got to be 100% ready. And so we're working slowly but positively."

Jan 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Jayden Quaintance (21) fives a teammate during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Based on that comment and all of the recent comments, it is not sounding very promsing that Kentucky fans will see Quaintance back on the floor. Although there is still some time left, there isn't much. Plus, given the fact that Pope says he will have to be at 100 percent before he can play again says to fans that he really does not have much time to get to that point before the end of the year. It seems like this knee swelling is something that just is not going away, and the fact that he is still not back on the floor after being out for over a month does not sound like a good development. Fans are still holding out hope to see Quaintance back on the floor, but the amount of it is basically just barely holding on at this point.

Pope also brought up Kam Williams as well, who has been sidelined with a broken foot injury since the Texas game on Jan. 21. Here is what he had to say about the possibility of him returning this year: "We're optimistic, because we're always optimistic. The timeline is tight, and I don't know how much publicly has been talked about the specific specifics of his injury. I've been really vague, right? But, there's a real chance that at some point, if we extend the season out long enough that he could come back and help us."

Things are not looking promising for either one, but especially Quaintance, who just continues to be bothered by the effects of coming back from an ACL injury. It's been over a month and there is not much optimism to hold on to at the moment.