Kentucky's Alex Afari has two court hearings this week ahead of Oklahoma trip

Kentucky linebacker Alex Afari has two chances this week to get his eligibility back in court, and he could find out before the No. 15 Wildcats play at Oklahoma on Saturday.

On3's Nick Roush reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit was set to hear oral arguments Tuesday morning in the Wisne case out of Colorado. A hearing in the Wells case in Louisville follows on Wednesday. Either one could clear the way for Afari to return. On3 says nobody knows yet when either court will rule.

Afari has spent about three months going back and forth on whether he can play. The Wisne case first made him eligible, and that held for a few weeks in August, long enough for him to take part in preseason practice. Then the 10th Circuit overturned that ruling. Afari went to court in Louisville next and got a temporary restraining order through the Wells case, which also covers Missouri's Mark Mitchell and Louisville's Seth Trimble. That relief ran out when the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled the order was only temporary. Kentucky's coaches got that news after the team plane landed in South Carolina the day before the game.

"I mean it's not something that we planned on, especially getting the news when we land at 4 p.m. on a Friday, so that was really unfortunate," coach Will Stein said afterward, according to On3. Kentucky still won in Columbia.

The 10th Circuit has two options, according to On3. If it affirms the injunction, every player from the Class of 2022 becomes eligible. If it vacates the injunction, these cases go back to state courts. For Afari, that means Wednesday's hearing in Louisville.

Kentucky has a clear reason to want him back. Injuries have gutted the linebacker room, and starters Bo Barnes and Grant Godfrey have no backup behind them. Against LSU, Godfrey played all 74 snaps and Barnes missed only two. The pair led the team with 22 combined tackles, plus 2.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries, in the overtime win that moved Kentucky to 5-1.

The team can't keep asking that much of two players, and Oklahoma will test the defense at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday on SEC Network. The Sooners come in at 3-2. A road win would give Kentucky its sixth victory before the midpoint of October and keep a strong first half going.

Oklahoma is favored by 6.5 points, with the total at 44.5. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, the Sooners are favored at -233 on the moneyline. BetMGM has Oklahoma at -250. Full prices are on the Kentucky at Oklahoma odds page.

If Afari is cleared in time, Kentucky would finally have a third linebacker. If he isn't, Barnes and Godfrey will most likely play almost every snap again in Norman.