ATHENS — Injuries and illness were two of the bigger concerns for the Georgia football team coming out of the win over Tennessee.

Outside linebacker Nolan Smith and defensive linemen Devonte Wyatt both left in the fourth quarter of the win due to hits they sustained, while the likes of Jalen Carter and Warren Ericson were removed from the game due to a battle with the flu.

On Monday, Georgia coach Kirby Smart described Smith and Wyatt as fine, with the former dealing with an elbow injury and the latter having a knee injury.

Smart was asked why so many key contributors were playing late in the win over Tennessee with the game well in hand.

“To me, when you’re playing that group and they can score fast, I’m not taking anything for granted,” Smart said. “We’re going to play our best guys and try to win the game.”

The Georgia coach also provided deeper updates on Dominick Blaylock and Jamaree Salyer. Both made the trip to Knoxville but neither saw the field in the win.

“Dom (Blaylock) is a little sick and under the weather, but Dom had been practicing and doing a good job,” Smart said. “We’re going to get Dom back, but it’s just a matter of going out there to execute and play at a high level.”

The fact that Blaylock traveled was an encouraging sign for his return. The redshirt sophomore hasn’t played since December of 2019 due to ACL and hamstring injuries. He’s now been back working with the scout team for the past two weeks, ramping up his recovery.

As for Salyer, he is dealing with a foot injury that prevented him from playing against Missouri. In his place, Georgia went with Broderick Jones at left tackle.

“I thought he was close. He went out in warmups, and it bothered him a little bit,” Smart said of Salyer. “We thought he would be close last week and thought he would be an emergency guy. We think he is going to be clear this week, so we are hopeful to get him back.”

Smart did confirm redshirt freshman receiver Arian Smith would be out for the foreseeable future with a leg fracture. It’s just the latest injury for Smith, as he’s had wrist, knee, groin and shin injuries as well that have prevented him from seeing the field.

“It was a weird deal; he was running a route and just banged legs with another guy,” Smart said. “It was not really a contact issue, and he’s out.”

The flu though still seems to be having an impact on the Georgia team. In addition to the likes of Carter, Ericson and tight end John FitzPatrick, a number of coaches and fellow players have continued to battle with the bug.

Blaylock was the only other player that Smart mentioned as feeling under the weather but the Georgia coach estimated seven or eight players would be unable to practice on Monday because of it.

The hope though is those who miss practice today are able to return on Tuesday.

“We’re dealing with some of the repercussions now,” Smart said. “We’ve got some guys that are just getting over the flu and just getting the flu. We’ve just had a tough run here in the last 48 hours or so.”

It’s too soon to tell what kind of impact the flu will have on the team come Saturday’s game against Charleston Southern. But Georgia may not need everyone to beat the FCS foe, as the Bulldogs are a heavy favorite in the game.

Georgia and Charleston Southern will kick off at 12 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. It will be the final home game of the season for Georgia.

Kirby Smart gives Georgia football injury update

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