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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Georgia All-American tight end Brock Bowers will have surgery on his injured left ankle Monday, the school announced.
Bowers, the No. 4 NFL draft prospect on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest Big Board, suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half of the No. 1 Bulldogs’ 37-20 victory against Vanderbilt on Saturday and did not return.
Georgia said a full recovery is anticipated, but an exact timeline of Bowers’ return is unclear. Sources said he is expected to undergo TightRope surgery, which involves using surgical thread instead of metal screws and is designed to accelerate recovery.
The typical recovery time for a TightRope surgical procedure is four to six weeks.
He is the third Georgia player to have the procedure this season. Starting right tackle Amarius Mims, a preseason All-SEC pick, had the surgery after suffering a high ankle sprain in mid-September, and he hasn’t yet returned to the field. Tight end Lawson Luckie had the procedure in mid-August and recently returned to action.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had the surgery at Alabama in 2018 and was out for a month. Wide receiver Cedric Tillman had the surgery at Tennessee last year and missed four games.
Bowers, a junior from Napa, California, was helped off the field by trainers with 7:24 remaining in the second quarter. He was taken to the medical tent on the sideline and then helped to the locker room for X-rays. He had 4 catches for 22 yards before exiting vs. Vanderbilt.
Bowers has been the centerpiece of Georgia’s offense this season. He leads the team with 41 catches for 567 yards and has four touchdowns. He had more than 100 receiving yards in each of the past three games.
With Bowers sidelined, Georgia will turn to sophomore Oscar Delp (13 receptions for 160 yards with two touchdowns), freshmen Pearce Spurlin III (two catches for 29 yards) and Luckie.
Georgia is about to face the meat of its schedule after an open date this week, starting with playing rival Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 28. Then the Bulldogs play home games against No. 20 Missouri on Nov. 4 and No. 13 Ole Miss the next week before going to No. 17 Tennessee on Nov. 18.