ATHENS — The Georgia football program announced that tight end Brock Bowers will have ankle surgery today, Monday Oct 16, in order to stabilize the ankle.

Bowers left Saturday’s game with a high ankle sprain in the second quarter. Georgia did not offer a timetable on his return, and instead said a full recovery is anticipated. If the surgery is the TightRope surgery, Bowers is expected to miss anywhere from three to six weeks. Georgia is off this week before playing against Florida on Oct. 28, Missouri on Nov. 4, Ole Miss on Nov. 11 and Tennessee on Nov. 18.

Georgia is 7-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the country. Bowers is a big reason why that is the case, as the star tight end leads the team in receptions (41), receiving yards (567) and touchdowns (4). Bowers won the Mackey Award last season as the nation’s top tight end.

“It’s not a lot you can do. It’s the game of football, right,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the game. “They’re going to play tackle, and you’re going to get injured. You’re going to have bumps and bruises. You’re going to have injuries and things. We’re not going to overreact to it. We’re thinking about Brock, but I think he’ll be fine.”

Bowers has led Georgia in receiving in each of the previous two seasons at Georgia, emerging as one of the best players in the country over that time.

Without Bowers, Georgia will turn to sophomore Oscar Delp at the tight end position. Delp has been a regular contributor to Georgia this season, as he has 13 catches for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season to this point. Delp had 2 receptions for 32 yards after Bowers left the win over Vanderbilt with an injury.

Behind Delp, Georgia has two freshman tight ends in Lawson Luckie and Pearce Spurlin. Luckie saw action on Saturday and will likely see an uptick in snaps moving forward. He had TightRope surgery earlier this season and did not make his debut until the team’s win over Kentucky.

“I don’t know when it’s going to be, but it’s going to be a Monroe Freeling or a Lawson Luckie moment where a kid’s got to go in and play,” Smart said. “It’s coming, we just don’t know who. I tell the guys all the time, there’s 22, 44 players twos and threes that we’ve got to get every single rep we can for them so they’re prepared for this stretch run of five games, guys, is going to be physical and tough. We may or may not be playing with a full deck. We’ve got to go get better.”

Georgia is off this week before taking on Florida on Oct. 28. Georgia has five regular season games left as well as a potential SEC championship game as well.

Following Geogria’s game against Florida, its next three teams it faces will all be ranked, as Georgia hosts No. 20 Missouri on Nov. 4, No. 13 Ole Miss on Nov. 11 and then travels to No. 17 Tennessee on Nov. 18.

What Brock Bowers means to Georgia football

*More details will be added to this story as it develops.