Arkansas junior running back Rocket Sanders is back in Fayetteville after taking some time to rehab a knee injury in Dallas over the past few weeks.
The preseason First Team All-SEC tailback suffered the knee injury in the Week 1 win over Western Carolina (Sept. 2), and things haven't been right since. He was able to return on Sept. 30 against Texas A&M and he played the next week at Ole Miss on Oct. 7, but he hasn't seen the field since.
Sanders has missed the past two games against Alabama and Mississippi State, but head coach Sam Pittman said the 6-foot-2, 242-pound running back might be able to practice Monday.
"Well, he's back, so we'll see," Pittman said. "I anticipate him practicing today, but how much he can do I don't know. When I talk to (the media) again Wednesday, I'll know more then about that because obviously I don't know where he is physically."
Just two weeks ago, Pittman said he didn't know if Sanders would be able to play again for the rest of the season. Things really turned quickly the week of the Alabama game, when Sanders practiced Monday and Tuesday, but then felt discomfort after the Tuesday practice and he ended up not making the trip to Tuscaloosa for the 24-21 loss on Oct. 14.
A year removed from rushing for 1,443 yards and 10 touchdowns, Sanders has carried the ball just 34 times for 91 rushing yards and two scores this season.
Being a native of Rockledge, Florida, there might be some extra motivation for Sanders to try and get on the field this Saturday against the home state Gators.
"That’s a good thought," Pittman said. "I really don’t know. In all honesty, I think he was just hurt and this was good timing, or it ended up being good timing being able to go back to Florida."
With Sanders being hurt for all but three games, sophomore Rashod Dubinion currently leads the team with 260 rushing yards on 79 carries (3.3 yards per carry). Junior AJ Green also has 252 rushing yards on 42 carries (6.0 yards per carry) with two scores on the season.
Arkansas and Florida will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
