Less than six months after being shot at a concert, Ahmad Hardy is set to take the field for Missouri on Saturday.
The Tigers running back is “expected to get a handful of carries” but won’t start the game against Arkansas on the road, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Thursday.
Hardy returned to practice this week after working his way back from injuries caused by the shooting in May.
Earlier this week, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz was reluctant to put a timeline on Hardy’s return.
“I don’t know if he’ll be back for Arkansas. I don’t know if he’ll be back for Texas. I don’t know if he’ll be back for the bowl game. Nobody knows,” Drinkwitz said during a press conference on Monday.
The running back was shot in the upper leg in Laurel, Miss., and underwent surgery in Mississippi before returning to Columbia, Mo., three days later.
Last season, Hardy led the SEC with 1,649 rushing yards and added 16 touchdowns en route to first-team all-conference and All-American honors.
Hardy, an Oma, Miss., native, began his college career in the Sun Belt Conference with Louisiana-Monroe before transferring to Mizzou last season.
In Hardy’s absence, Jamal Roberts has emerged as one of the SEC’s top running backs, rushing for 867 yards and eight touchdowns in seven games.
Missouri enters Saturday ranked No. 23 in the AP poll with a 5-2 record, still clinging to College Football Playoff hopes despite a 31-3 loss to Ole Miss in its last game.
The Tigers face a difficult remaining schedule that includes Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
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