Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said he was hospitalized two nights this week with "some type of food poisoning," which caused him to miss the Razorbacks’ 4-3 loss to Alabama on Wednesday at the SEC Tournament.
Van Horn, who coached Arkansas’ 7-5 loss to Florida on Friday in Hoover, Ala., commented on his condition during separate interviews with SEC Network and the Razorback Sports Network before the game.
On the RSN radio pregame show, Van Horn described the food poisoning as “severe.”
“There was a chance of surgery when I first got there and luckily we didn’t do that,” Van Horn said. “Things got a little bit better, but it took some time. I’m really excited to be back with the team and hopefully we’ll get off to a good start today.”
“I’m feeling a lot better thanks to the nurses at St. Vincent's Hospital,” Van Horn told SEC Network. “They took care of me. It wasn’t any fun, but just so glad to be back on the field.”
After the game, Van Horn said he thinks the food poisoning came from a salad he ate. He did not say where the food came from, but said it was not from a team meal during the Razorbacks' 10-day stay in Alabama.
"Thank goodness, or we would have been in trouble," Van Horn said, "because there's nobody going to play with what I had."
Wednesday’s game was believed to be the first Van Horn has missed since a 2016 series-opening loss at Mississippi State, when he attended his youngest daughter’s high school graduation. He also missed a 2012 game at Tennessee to attend his oldest daughter's graduation.