​TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 18: Lance Heard #53 of the Tennessee Volunteers blocks Yhonzae Pierre #42 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on October 18, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images We are now only 33 days out from the kickoff of the Will Stein era, and there is a ton of excitement around the Kentucky Football program, not only by Big Blue Nation but others as well.With the excitement, some reality has set in with the injury bug looming in Lexington. Most of the injuries the team is dealing with were known months ago, but they are still lingering and being worked through before the season gets rolling.You may have noticed the recent running back pickups and another move the staff made: moving Martel Carter from safety to running back. Those moves are mainly because of Jovantae Barnes, a former Oklahoma Sooner running back, who missed spring practice after transferring to the Wildcats.Two players who suffered season-ending injuries are still fighting to get back: Nic Anderson and Sam Greene. Anderson is a former Oklahoma and LSU wide receiver who has now made his way to Lexington in hopes of finishing his college career in a great way. That has been an uphill battle for him due to a knee injury he sustained towards the end of last season at LSU.Greene is a name that should ring a bell for Kentucky fans, as he wore the blue and white last year. The edge rusher suffered a knee injury towards the end of last season in Lexington and is still working to get back to full health.A name that made some waves when Kentucky landed him in the transfer portal for Stein’s first season is Tegra Tshabola. A multi-year starting offensive guard for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Stein shared that “Tegra had a minor procedure. He’ll be back within the next week or so. So nothing that is a major season-ending setback.”Another massive name that turned some heads in the portal was Tennessee transfer left tackle Lance Heard. Heard has also been going through some minor things as he missed the final week of spring practice with, you guessed it, a minor procedure. Heard is now a preseason All-SEC tackle for the Wildcats, so it is best to tweak some things and make sure he is healthy before the real thing gets going this fall.Jaden Smith, a sophomore outside linebacker, will also miss some time this week of practice coming up, but as Stein said, none of these injuries are believed to be serious.