Cleveland, Nutt to meet about injury
Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas tight end Ben Cleveland will meet with Coach Houston Nutt today to discuss the likelihood of Cleveland taking a medical redshirt this season because of his neck injury.
Cleveland visited a specialist in Rogers to take an electromyography (EMG ) on Monday, then called Nutt in the evening to request the meeting, said Kevin Trainor, Arkansas’ associate athletic director for external affairs. Cleveland is also scheduled to meet with a doctor again today.
There had been concerns Cleveland would have to miss the season after nerve damage in his neck was confirmed during fall camp.
Cleveland, 20, was injured while blocking during the Razorbacks’ first day in full pads Aug. 9. He suffered a similar injury when Arkansas began preparation for the Capital One Bowl, held on New Year’s Day, then did it again during spring practice.
The 6-4, 247-pound sophomore from Springdale also visited specialists in Houston and Little Rock, with the last visit to Dr. Glen Pait at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences coming during the week of Arkansas’ season opener. That testing confirmed there was nerve damage in his neck, termed a brachial plexus stretch.
“It could take several weeks [to heal ],” Arkansas assistant trainer Eric Linson said Aug. 30. “That might be several weeks that will go into a month or two. It could be several weeks.” The brachial plexus injury is a stretched nerve that causes numbness in an area that runs from the neck to the hand on Cleveland’s left side.
Cleveland caught 12 passes for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns last season, the most notable being his grab in double-overtime that led to a 24-23 victory over Alabama.
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