Despite the season less than a month underway, Tennessee has already been the victim of injuries.
From injuries stemming from last season to newly arriving blows, the Vols have had to work around these issues.
Ahead of Tennessee's trip to face North Carolina on Wednesday, Rick Barnes updated the health of some players.
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Freddie Dilione V
The most serious of the injuries is redshirt freshman guard Freddie Dilione V's partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. He suffered this injury against Wofford and was forced to miss the Maui Invitational.
Barnes does not believe this injury is long term, though. Instead, he classified it as day-to-day. However, he wants to take things slow to ensure it doesn't linger.
"I think it's day-to-day," said Barnes. "We got back, he didn't do anything with us. We got to get him healthy. If you don't get it fixed, it'll linger all year and we don't want that. We're still in November, we've got a long way to go. We got to make sure we get him totally healthy before we get him back out there."
Zakai Zeigler
Zakai Zeigler is yet to suffer a setback this year but is still a step off after his ACL tear during last season. So far, Zeigler sits with averages of 4.2 points, three assists and 1.8 rebounds on 19.4% shooting from the field.
Barnes is confident Zeigler will find his rhythm, though. While he's pressing now, he's working hard to return to his effective form.
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"He's such a competitive player," said Barnes. "We all love him for what his DNA and what he's about. Like any player that goes through what he did, his frustration that would be. Nobody has worked harder than he has to get back. Thinking that he's going to be able to pick it right up. It's hard to go as long as he went without really getting a feel of the time off. Even though he worked and did everything he possibly could. He's pressing. We've practiced that Saturday. I thought he was really good. I think he learned. We talked aobut things that we need to improve from the Maui trip. Obviously, we need to have consistent good guard play especially at the point position. He knows we're counting on him to do that. He's all about our team. He's all about winning. He wants it back right now. He's more hard on himself than you can imagine. He'll get it.
Dalton Knecht
While Dalton Knecht wasn't necessarily injured at the Maui Invitational, he did suffer from cramps that forced him to miss time. For the transfer guard, it was the first time in his life he has had to deal with this.
Upon returning to Knoxville, Knecht felt sore from the cramps but says he's feeling fine. He is currently the team's leading scorer with 17.5 points scored per game.
"That was the first time I've ever cramped up, ever," said Knecht. "Like, I've never cramped in my life. Even my parents were kind of shocked. It's still pretty sore from the last day. I felt it still when I got back. I'm going to be fine. Just got to drink more water, Gatorade."
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