UF coach Tim Walton announced at his weekly press conference Tuesday morning that senior center fielder Kim Waleszonia suffered a tibial plateau fracture in her left knee and will likely not be back on the field for the No. 2 Gators until the postseason.
"We're probably looking at the earliest return for her being postseason," Walton said. "If we get her back for the postseason, it's going to be a good thing."
The injury occurred during the first inning of the UF's 7-3 win against Texas Tech on Saturday, when Waleszonia dropped a bunt and was tripped by the Red Raiders second baseman, who put her foot across the bag while covering first base. Waleszonia tripped and flew through the air, landing in obvious pain. After spending several minutes on the ground, she was carried off the field by her coaches.
A day before suffering the injury, Waleszonia got her 261st career hit, making her the career hits leader at UF.
Prior to Sunday's games, which she watched from the dugout while on crutches, Waleszonia had started all 234 games of her college career.
