Kentucky's PJ Washington Unlikely to Play in 2nd Round Because of Foot Injury

Kentucky Wildcats forward PJ Washington is not expected to play in Saturday's second-round game as he continues to deal with a foot injury, coach John Calipari revealed to ESPN (h/t John Clay of the Lexington Herald-Leader) on Thursday.

Washington did not play in Kentucky's 79-44 victory over No. 15 Abilene Christian on Thursday in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament.

Calipari made it clear prior to the game that the sophomore forward would not suit up for the tournament opener.

"The specialists confirmed our original diagnosis that PJ Washington has a sprained foot and there is no fracture," Calipari wrote in a tweet on Thursday. "Once we determined that PJ was not going to play today, they put him in a hard cast for precautionary reasons. He is out for today's game."

The Wildcats sophomore started wearing a walking boot on Sunday "for precautionary reasons," according to Jon Hale of the Louisville Courier Journal. On game day, though, he was seen sporting a hard cast:

Calipari added, per Stadium's Jeff Goodman, that the cast could come off on Friday or early next week.

Kentucky was able to cruise past Abilene Christian even without Washington, taking a 39-13 lead into halftime. At that point, the second half was a mere formality.

The Wildcats would benefit from having Washington as the tournament progresses, though. The 6'8", 228-pound forward has led the team in both scoring (14.8 PPG) and rebounding (7.5 RPG) this season.

As the competition gets tougher, Washington's presence would go a long way in helping the Wildcats continue to advance.

Freshman EJ Montgomery saw an uptick in playing time in Washington's absence. Averaging 15.1 minutes per game this season, he logged 23 minutes on Thursday, recording three points and 11 rebounds against Abilene Christian.