No. 8 Florida could have leading receiver Vernell Brown III for game at 25th-ranked Mizzou

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida receiver Vernell Brown III could be back for the team’s game at No. 25 Missouri on Saturday.

Brown injured his right knee at the end of a 6-yard run in the second quarter of a 52-28 victory against then-No. 4 Mississippi last weekend. He limped off the field and spent the second half wearing a protective sleeve on his leg.

“Nothing serious,” coach Jon Sumrall said Monday. “Relative to what you could get, we got great news after the imaging and everything. The MRI revealed nothing that’s long term. It’s, right now, really going to be as much of a pain tolerance and a confidence with him being ready to go.”

Sumrall called it the “lowest-grade strain you could get.”

“What does that mean timeline-wise? I don’t know,” Sumrall said. “A lot of that’s just how he’s feeling more than anything. But medically there’s nothing that’s going to hold him other than his own readiness. We got to see how he responds and how he feels ready to go.”

Brown leads the eighth-ranked Gators (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) with 17 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 16 yards rushing on three carriers.

Backup receiver Bailey Stockton also left the game with a back injury after getting sandwiched by two tacklers across the middle. Stockton returned to the game but will be limited in practice for part of this week.

“He had basically a car crash on the field,” Sumrall said. “He came back and fought through it. His back is a little bit sore, but there’s nothing structurally wrong.”

The injuries caused Eric Singleton Jr. to return to the field for the first time since Florida’s season opener. Singleton missed the previous two games while recovering from a sprained left ankle.

Singleton finished with one reception for 38 yards, but he also drew a 15-yard, pass-interference penalty that set up Aaron Philo’s 5-yard TD pass to Amir Jackson.

Sumrall said Singleton will be full go in practice this week.

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