Missouri football will finish the 2026 season without starting defensive end Langden Kitchen due to injury, MU coach Eli Drinkwitz confirmed during his weekly press availability Tuesday, but the Tigers expect SEC-leading wide receiver Cayden Lee to be back in practice after limping off the field in their last game.
Kitchen had to be helped off the field during the first quarter of the Tigers’ game against Texas on Saturday, Nov. 7 on Faurot Field.
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After tackling Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo on a first-down play near midfield, Kitchen sprung up and immediately clutched the back of his left leg and went back down to the field. He went to the locker room and was unable to return to the game.
Drinkwitz said the senior defensive end from Huntsville, Missouri, had surgery Tuesday morning and has been ruled out for the remainder of the year.
“Do expect him to make a full recovery,” Drinkwitz said. “Look forward to trying to work with him to get him back on our football team for next year.”
Kitchen is eligible for a fifth season due to the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model. If he is able to recover from the injury, he can return in 2027.
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Lee, who leads the SEC with 835 receiving yards this season and has scored five touchdowns, did not have any structural damage to his knee, Drinkwitz said.
The senior Ole Miss transfer, who also is eligible to return in 2027 under the age-based eligibility model, hobbled off the field after he was tackled on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter, which was ruled a completion before Lee fumbled into the arms of Texas defensive back Graceson Littleton, who returned the recovery just short of the Missouri goal line.
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Drinkwitz said he expects Lee to practice Tuesday and indicated that he thinks he will play Saturday in MU’s game against Georgia.
“We were very fortunate. When you watch it, it looks bad, but the cleat was not the ground, which is a real relief there,” Drinkwitz said. “So, anticipate him trying to practice today, and we’ll monitor that situation as it goes. I know everybody will look forward to seeing what the report is tomorrow night, but he was out in practice yesterday, and he is probably as tough a competitor as I’ve been around, so nothing would shock me more than if he wasn’t playing. But, again, I don’t know how his body will respond to that injury.”
Oct 31, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) fields a punt during pregame warmups before the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images
Mizzou goes on the road for the final time this season this coming Saturday with a game against newly No. 1-ranked Georgia on Nov. 14 in Athens, Georgia.
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The Tigers will release an official availability and injury report Wednesday night with specific designations for players and their statuses ahead of the game against the Bulldogs.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: WR Cayden Lee, EDGE Langden Kitchen injury updates for Missouri football
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