Spinal fracture clouds Tulane safety’s future

It is too soon to tell if Tulane safety Devon Walker will be paralyzed as the result of a spinal fracture he suffered while making a tackle, and the full extent of his injury may not be known for days, the team’s doctor said Sunday.

Dr. Greg Stewart, Tulane University’s director of sports medicine, said Walker remained in stable condition in the intensive care until of St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Okla. Physicians there plan to do surgery on Walker in the coming days.

“These kind of injuries take 24, 48, sometimes 72 hours to fully declare themselves,” Stewart said. “We don’t know what the long-term implications and outcomes are going to be.”

Arkansas

The Razorbacks were reeling Sunday, not only because they blew a 21-point second-half lead in a shocking, 34-31 overtime loss Saturday against Louisiana- Monroe, but also because quarterback Tyler Wilson and a host of other players went down with injuries.

Coach John L. Smith announced Sunday that Wilson stayed in Little Rock following the loss, the result of a hit to the head in the first half. Smith said Wilson’s prognosis for the game against No. 1 Alabama this Saturday is good.

Miami

Coach Al Golden said linebacker Ramon Buchanan will miss the rest of the season with a right knee injury and safety Vaughn Telemaque will miss the game this week against Bethune-Cookman because of a left knee injury. They were hurt in a 52-13 loss Saturday against Kansas State as was wide receiver Allen Hurns, whose immediate future is unclear because of a head injury. Buchanan and Telemaque played after getting hurt, and Golden said he was unaware of the extent of both injuries until Sunday