Florida fans better hope Joe Haden gets better in a hurry.
The junior is one of the latest players to be affected by flu-like symptoms and was held out of Thursday's practice along with safety Major Wright. UF coach Urban Meyer said the two should be fine to play against Kentucky (2-0, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) in Lexington on Saturday.
"Haden's got to. Haden will. Haden don't go, I'm not going," Meyer said.
Starters Aaron Hernandez, Jeff Demps and Jermaine Cunningham were all limited with flu-like symptoms against Tennessee last weekend, and six more players missed practice earlier this week, including starting outside linebacker A.J. Jones.
Meyer said the Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC) have had about 35 cases of illness in the past three to four weeks.
The team has been taking precautions against spreading the sickness by isolating players who have shown signs of illness and encouraging players to wash their hands frequently.
Ole Miss suffered from a similar outbreak two weeks ago when more than 20 players were held out of practice with the flu.
"Certainly it's on everyone's mind and consciousness, and we're trying to minimize (spreading it) the best we can," safeties coach Chuck Heater said.
Florida has a bye next weekend and will have two weeks to get healthy before traveling to LSU.
But extending its 22-game winning streak against Kentucky could be a bigger test than initially thought with so many players limited due to illness.
With senior linebacker Brandon Spikes and sophomore wide receiver Deonte Thompson nursing injuries already, the Gators could be forced to lean heavily on their reserves to carry them into the bye week.
"I'm just going to blow the whistle, and whoever runs out, runs out," Meyer said.
Fortunately for UF, the game doesn't kick off until 6 p.m., which gives the team more time to heal up and get ready for the game.
"Just to get our guys up and get them another day away from that sickness, I'm glad it's 6 o'clock," Meyer said.
