Georgia WR Mitchell has right knee scoped; return unclear

Published Aug. 1, 2014 8:48 a.m. ET

foxsports

Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell underwent arthroscopic surgery Thursday on his right knee, the same leg in which he tore his ACL during the first game of 2013, the school announced.

No timetable has been set for his return, but director of sports medicine Ron Courson said a full recovery was expected.

Georgia opens its fall practice on Friday.

The injury occurred this week when Mitchell was making passing routes with his teammates.

Quarterback Hutson Mason was practicing with Mitchell and didn't even realize he was hurt after he planted making a cut.

"The thing you want to pound your head over is it was the last route when it happened," Mason said Friday, shortly before Georgia held its first preseason practice. "We were working on slant routes, slant routes, slant routes, and he just looked so explosive. He was looking so good."

Mitchell, who caught a combined 85 passes for 1,237 yards and eight touchdowns in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, injured the knee on the first series of 2013 vs. Clemson while celebrating Todd Gurley's 75-yard touchdown.

Arthroscopic procedures typically come with recovery times of no longer than a month, which means Mitchell could be ready for the team's season opener Aug. 30 vs. Clemson. However, given Mitchell's past injury history, Georgia could opt to give him additional time to heal. Following the Clemson game, Georgia has an open week before playing South Carolina on Sept. 13.

According to a report from the Athens Banner-Herald, Mitchell had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the spring of 2013 and missed a combined four games in 2011 and '12 with ankle and hamstring injuries.

"There's no way to sugarcoat it," Mason said of Mitchell's current setback. "You're going to miss a guy like Malcolm. He's one of those guys you just find a way to get him the ball and let him do what he does best."

But coach Mark Richt said he is confident the Bulldogs can get by while Mitchell recovers. Seniors Chris Conley and Michael Bennett have plenty of experience, sophomore Reggie Davis is coming off a promising debut season, and senior Jonathon Rumph has been a late-bloomer in the passing game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.