Indianapolis, IN – Butler Bulldogs guard Rotnei Clarke was cleared for practice on Thursday after suffering a neck injury on Jan. 12.
Clarke was carted off on a stretcher during the first half of a game against Dayton. He was cleared to rejoin the team and took part in a full workout on Thursday.
"Rotnei saw a spine specialist again this morning and everything looks stable and he has no symptoms, so he was cleared for full contact," said Butler head athletic trainer Ryan Galloy. "We will evaluate him again tomorrow (Friday) and then make a decision about Saturday."
The Bulldogs' season-leading scorer was injured on a fastbreak play, where he took a hard foul from Dayton's Matt Derenbecker and collided head first into the padded area of the backboard stand. He remained on the ground for several minutes before he was helped onto a stretcher.
He was taken to a hospital for X-rays, but was discharged and traveled back to Indianapolis with the team.
Butler has gone 2-1 since the game against Dayton, including a 54-53 loss to La Salle on Wednesday. The team hosts Temple on Saturday.
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