Florida was notably short-handed as it mounted a comeback against Virginia Tech on Friday. The 7-seed Gators were down 44-38 to the 10-seed Hokies when UF guard Tyree Appleby had to exit the game after taking an elbow to the face.

After receiving stitches, Appleby, sporting a bandage, returned to the bench but did not re-enter the game. On top of Appleby’s injury, the Gators lost forwards Anthony Duruji and Osayi Osifo to foul trouble. The Gators were stretched especially thin as coach Mike White had already opted to sit Omar Payne for the game. Payne was ejected in Florida’s SEC Tournament loss to Tennessee for elbowing UT’s John Fulkerson, causing a facial fracture.

Florida managed a 75-70 win over Virginia Tech in overtime. The Gators will take on 15-seed Oral Robers in the Round of 32, a game set for 7:45 p.m. Sunday, airing on truTV.

On Saturday, White shared the latest on Appleby. The starting guard will be a game-time decision for Sunday’s Round of 32 meeting with Oral Roberts.

“He seems fine, seems normal. Facial laceration, I’m told. Game-time decision,” White told reporters, per the Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson.

Even after his 22-minute, 6-point abbreviated performance Friday, Appleby averages 11.2 points per game for the Gators.