FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas won’t quite be fully healthy when it takes the field for its opening series against Eastern Illinois this weekend.

With projected starting second baseman Trevor Ezell still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, head coach Dave Van Horn will have to tinker with the lineup.

Although he has attacked rehab as hard as any player Van Horn can remember, Ezell can’t make the strong throws required by middle infielders to get runners at first and turn double plays.

“He plays a really good second base, he’s just having trouble throwing,” Van Horn said at the Swatter’s Club meeting Monday. “It’s not ready yet. There’s a real good possibility you could see him playing Friday at first base.”

In corresponding moves, Van Horn said he would likely shift Jack Kenley from third to second base and insert Jacob Nesbit - who will probably be a utility infielder this season - at third. That will make the Razorbacks strong defensively up the middle.

Preseason All-SEC center fielder Dominic Fletcher has also been limited the last few weeks because of a sore arm and tweaked hamstring. He was a designated hitter the last few scrimmages, with the coaches trying to limit his running.

It doesn’t sound like either injury is going to keep him out of games, though.

“He was good to play yesterday,” Van Horn said. “We kid him all the time about, ‘You’re just waiting for the games to start. Are you really hurt?’ Really to me the issue was the hamstring. He could have played this last weekend and ran. We’re just trying to make sure.”

Perhaps the most snakebitten player on the team has been freshman outfielder Trey Harris. The Little Rock Christian product was the first player off the bench in the Wichita State scrimmage and even started the UALR scrimmage in the fall.

Van Horn said he needed to improve defensively, but that he’s swung the bat well and was expected to give the Razorbacks a few at bats this season. Unfortunately, two separate injuries have kept him out of virtually all three weeks of preseason practices and scrimmages.

“He ran into the fence the very first practice and it was scary because he tripped right before he got to the fence and he hit the fence head on,” Van Horn said. “That hurt his back and his neck and he missed a week and a half on that.

“First day back out at practice, he slides into second base and hurts his knee. I don’t even know if he’s had maybe one at bat. I don’t know if he’s had any in a scrimmage.”

Aside from sophomore right-hander Caleb Bolden being out for the year because of Tommy John surgery, the pitching staff has been pretty healthy.

There was a scare, though, in Sunday’s scrimmage when reliever Angus Denton took a Heston Kjerstad line drive off his neck. Van Horn described it as “one of the scarier things I’ve seen in a long time,” but luckily it wasn’t as it looked.

“He said yesterday about an hour later he was ready to go back in,” Van Horn said. “I texted him last night and asked him how he was doing (and) he said he was great and ready to go. He’s got a ball mark and a swelled-up neck. It’s amazing.”

Although he is healthy now, right-hander Kevin Kopps is still working his way back after missing last season with Tommy John surgery.

Before getting hurt, he was solid as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and is expected to contribute this year even if it takes some time to find his groove.

“He’s got really good stuff,” Van Horn said. “He’ll be ready to go, but maybe give him a few games into the season and I think he’ll be a big part of our pitching staff.”

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