As concerning as it sounds, it’s actually happened. Kentucky senior and star guard, Otega Oweh, was pictured this week wearing a medical boot on his right foot in an image that showed up online, and many fans thought it could have been potentially fake.

The picture surfaced on social media on Monday in which what looked to be at a local basketball court in town, along with his teammate Jayden Quaintance pictured in it as well. Both looked to be casually shooting hoops while adventuring through their summer time in Kentucky, but there was a lot to take in from the quickly circulating picture.

So many questions emerged as fans over-analyzed it because that’s just simply what we do. Why is Jayden dunking in sandals if he’s currently recovering from an ACL tear in his right knee? Why is Otega wearing a boot? What happened??

Just last week, Otega participated in the 2025 Chris Paul and Jayson Tatum Elite Camp, which was held from July 30-31 in Las Vegas, so he must’ve hurt his ankle in that event or obviously since then in some avenue. Prized for a major senior year as one of the faces of the league, an image like this will definitely make your stomach sink when seeing it. The entire roster was built around an Otega Oweh return and if he has the chance of being sidelined to start the season or even just being limited in his ability throughout the season itself then that would be an extremely deep blow to the ceiling of this year’s team.

Thankfully, after doing some research, medical boots are more of a precautionary step nowadays rather than a sign of ending someone’s (upcoming) season. Generically speaking, boots are worn around 1-6 weeks, according to what the internet tells me. The boot helps restrict mobility, overall controlling the movement taking place for the individual. Now I can say, most people who are in a walking boot aren’t in the shape to be undergoing physical activity such as shooting basketball, and people who are actively recovering from an ACL tear (Jayden) I’d lean to think aren’t recommended to be doing any basketball activity in sandals, so the picture is still very concerning in itself.

With all being said, it seems like it’s just a short-term worry for Oweh as we have over two months (8+ weeks) until the early season festivities begin. Kentucky’s first exhibition will take place on October 24th versus Purdue, so plenty of time to get healed back to 100 percent. If worst case he wasn’t ready by October, the priority games don’t start until November anyways. While it sucks to have this issue, Otega should still be a main contributor to this team for the majority of the season.

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