Georgia tight end Brock Bowers underwent tightrope surgery to repair an ankle injury the star suffered against Vanderbilt, the school announced on Monday. Bowers is expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action and the school said a full recovery is anticipated. The injury occurred during a run play midway through the second quarter of the No. 1 Bulldogs' 37-20 road win against SEC East foe Vanderbilt on Saturday. Among the games that Bowers will miss, the Bulldogs will now be without their best playmaker for the upcoming rivalry showdown with Florida in Jacksonville on Oct. 28.
The injury occurred on a designed run with Bowers coming around from the left side on the sweep. He gained 11 yards before being tackled near the right sideline by Savion Riley, and it appeared that Riley's body came down awkwardly on Bowers' foot as the two tumbled out of bounds.
Bowers got up gingerly before going back down to the turf where he stayed for several minutes before walking off to the injury tent. Bowers eventually left for the locker room with the assistance of a trainer as just over 5 minutes remained in the first half.
The star tight end from Napa, California, had four catches for 22 yards as well as two carries for 11 yards before the injury. Bowers, Georgia's primary weapon on the outside, had 37 catches for a team-high 545 yards and four touchdowns coming into Saturday's game against the Commodores. He was named a 2023 CBS Sports Preseason All-America first team selection.
The Georgia training staff is taking a look at Brock Bowers. pic.twitter.com/8UlzP62Vkx
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 14, 2023
To make matters worse for Georgia, the play in which Bowers was injured was called back. Quarterback Carson Beck was flagged for holding on the play, while Bowers was only credited with 4 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs ultimately prevailed 37-20, overcoming shaky start against the Commodores. Georgia initially went down 7-0 in the first quarter before embarking on a 27-0 run as the Bulldogs left Nashville with a 17-point win and improved to 7-0 on the season.
