Florida Gators battling the flu

The flu bug in the Florida Gators' locker room has bitten several players recently. Head coach Will Muschamp said on Thursday that reserve defensive tackle Leon Orr had to be hospitalized with the flu and is ruled out of Saturday's game against Missouri.

Starting safety Matt Elam has also been affected by the flu. But aside from Orr, the flu shouldn't impact the Gators much in their matchup against the Tigers.

"There's been a bit of a bug going around," Muschamp told the Gainesville Sun. "Matt Elam missed some time yesterday. He was down a little bit. He's fine. He's going to practice today. We had a couple Monday. I don't remember exactly who it was and I think two Tuesday. We've been hit pretty good this week.

"I would say it's a handful (of players who have been affected)," he said. "It hasn't been much. But we'll be fine."

A pair of starters - offensive tackle Xavier Nixon and linebacker/defensive end Lerentee McCray - could miss Saturday's game with injuries. Nixon has a sore knee, while McCray is recovering from a sprained ankle.