Mizzou injury update: CFB insider shares latest on Ahmad Hardy, Cayden Green before Kansas game
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Mizzou’s 2 injured standouts on the offensive side of the ball received an update on their status from ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel on Tuesday morning.
Star running back Ahmad Hardy and left tackle Cayden Green, both of whom missed the Tigers’ season-opening blowout win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Thursday night, were given very different prospects to play in Friday night’s Border War battle with rival Kansas.
The good news for the Mizzou faithful, according to Thamel, is with Green. According to Thamel’s report, the stud tackle practiced with the team on Monday and is “on track to play against Kansas on Friday night, barring any setbacks,” wrote Thamel in his social media post on Tuesday morning.
Green was forced to sit out the season opener because of an undisclosed injury. But the lineman who was named a first-team All-SEC performer last season and was a preseason All-SEC pick this year sounds like he’s moving toward making his 2026 debut in Friday night’s showdown in Lawrence (8 p.m. ET, FOX).
Unfortunately, Thamel was also revealing some bad news for Mizzou with his report regarding Hardy. The running back who rushed for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns last season “still hasn’t practiced for the Tigers and his return timeline remains uncertain,” according to Thamel’s report.
Hardy is still trying to make it back to the field after suffering a gunshot wound in the offseason.
Mizzou is trying to fight through some early season injury woes while still winning games. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Tigers’ potential win total for the 2026 season:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
