Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss LB Nkemdiche in hospital for undisclosed reason, father confirms

Published Nov. 19, 2015 1:09 p.m. ET

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OXFORD, Miss. -- Mississippi senior linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche has been in the hospital this week for an undisclosed reason.

Nkemdiche's father Dr. Sunday Nkemdiche confirmed to The Associated Press via text message that Nkemdiche has been in the hospital in Oxford. He says his son is expected to be released on Thursday.

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said Wednesday that Nkemdiche was out for a ''personal matter'' and his status for Saturday's game against LSU was uncertain. Dr. Nkemdiche didn't say why his son is in the hospital.

Nkemdiche leads the 25th-ranked Rebels with 53 tackles this season. He's the older brother of starting defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche.

The Rivals.com affiliate for Ole Miss, RebelGrove.com, first reported Nkemdiche was in the hospital -- saying he was actually in the intensive care unit. According to the report, red flags first went up when Nkemdiche failed to report for an Ole Miss (7-3) team meeting on Sunday following the No. 22 Rebels’ bye week. The report stated that Nkemdiche was found the next day and taken to the hospital, though it did not indicate exactly where or in what condition Nkemdiche was found. The story did say that Nkemdiche was conscious as of Wednesday.

He is the older brother of star junior defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, one of the top players in the nation and potentially the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.