Oklahoma's John Mateer Says He Had Successful Surgery on Hand Injury

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer is officially on the mend after suffering a hand injury in last Saturday's 24-17 win over Auburn.

Mateer announced on Thursday that he underwent successful surgery and thanked his doctor for completing the procedure:

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables announced earlier this week that Mateer would need surgery but is expected to return at some point this season. CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported that the redshirt junior is expected to miss "about a month," and the Sooners are "hopeful" to have him back before the end of October.

"After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future," Venables said. "He's extremely disappointed he will miss some game action but is eager to correct the issue and move forward. As he is with everything, we know he will be aggressive with his rehabilitation and work to return to the field as quickly as possible."

Mateer suffered the injury in the first quarter against the Tigers but didn't exit the game, finishing with 271 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-36 passing while adding 10 carries for 29 yards and another score to help the Sooners improve to 4-0.

Before being sidelined, Mateer was considered one of the early favorites to win the Heisman Trophy this season. He's thrown for 1,215 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while leading Oklahoma with 190 rushing yards and five scores on the ground.

While Mateer is sidelined, sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will take over as the starting signal-caller for the Sooners. He will have a little extra time to prepare before he tries to help the team stay undefeated when he leads Oklahoma against Kent State (1-3) on Oct. 4.