ATHENS — Kirby Smart made it a point to say that no one was going to cry about Georgia’s injury situation. The injury report is as long as it has ever been in Smart’s tenure at Georgia.

“I look at it as there were six starters that were out today and probably six twos. It is what it is,” Smart said after the game on Saturday. “We’ve got to do a good job and adjust to it. I’m not going to sit here and cry about it. There’s other teams in the SEC that’s got the same problem.”

Among those injured starters were Mykel Williams and Javon Bullard. Williams is battling an illness but Smart expects him to return. As for Bullard, he did not dress out due to an ankle injury he suffered against Ball State.

“We think he’s going to be able to do more, hoping to get him back,” Smart said of Bullard. “Know more if he gets more done today and tomorrow and able to practice. We’ll obviously know more.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are really hurting at the skill position spots. Georgia did not have Kendall Milton and Roderick Robinson at running back as Milton has a knee injury and Robinson has a left ankle injury.

Perhaps most interesting this week is wide receiver Ladd McConkey. He has not yet played in a game this season as he has battled back problems all season.

“I think Ladd has done a really good job of staying locked in,” Bowers said. “I know he wants to be out there and playing. He’s staying ready and we’ll see how he’s doing.”

Smart provided a plan of action for McConkey this week.

“He’s got to be able to practice. That’s a big part of it. He’s going to be able to come back to practice this week and we’re going to be able to do some more things with him. How he does in this things will determine whether or not he’s able to play,” Smart said on Monday. “We had a two-week advised shutdown, he’s done that we’re expecting him to be able to go out there today and do some things non-contact early in the week and move through that.”

Smart mentioned on Saturday that wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint had been dealing with an injury as well and was only just cleared prior to the game on Saturday.

Georgia did get some positive news on Saturday, with center Austin Blaske and tight end Lawson Luckie dressing out. Neither played in the win but it’s still a step in the positive direction. Georgia also saw Marvin Jones Jr. return to action after missing the game against South Carolina with an illness. He had a tackle for loss on Saturday.

The Bulldogs head back into SEC play this weekend as they take on rival Auburn. The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET kick. Georgia is 1-0 in SEC play, having beaten South Carolina.

Georgia football injury report