Georgia TE Brock Bowers Expected to Miss 4-6 Weeks After Surgery on Ankle Injury

The Georgia Bulldogs will be without their star tight end for the immediate future.

Seth Emerson of The Athletic reported Brock Bowers will undergo surgery Monday "to stabilize the ankle" injury he suffered in Saturday's win over Vanderbilt. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the expectation is he will be sidelined for four-to-six weeks.

The timing of the setback could have been worse considering Georgia is entering its bye week after a 7-0 start, but the four-to-six week timeline means Bowers will not be available for the game against rival Florida after the bye.

The Gators are not the formidable force they were years ago, but they are still 5-2 with a victory over Tennessee. Not having Bowers on the field will make things far more difficult for Georgia as it attempts to remain undefeated.

Emerson also noted that Bulldogs tight end Lawson Luckie underwent a similar tightrope surgery for a high ankle sprain in August and did not return to the field until the team's sixth game of the year against Kentucky on Oct. 7.

Bowers is a major reason the Bulldogs are back-to-back College Football Playoff national champions. He was the 2022 John Mackey Award winner as the nation's best tight end with 63 catches for 942 yards and seven touchdowns, which came after he hauled in 13 touchdown receptions in 2021.

He is widely expected to be an early pick in the 2024 NFL draft and tallied 41 catches for 567 yards and four touchdowns in the first seven games of this season.

Look for Georgia to turn toward Oscar Delp and Luckie at tight end as long as the star is sidelined.

While that will help the team remain afloat, neither of them are the proven force that Bowers has been throughout his career. The Bulldogs may take a step back in the coming games, although they still have enough talent to cruise against their schedule.

After all, there isn't a team ranked higher than No. 13 Ole Miss on the rest of their slate. They avoid Alabama and LSU from the SEC West and may not be truly challenged until the SEC Championship Game.

Yet they will likely need Bowers back and healthy by then if they are going to win a third consecutive national title.