The No. 14 LSU Tigers will be without one of their best offensive linemen when they host No. 11 Alabama on Saturday night (6:30, ABC) in Tiger Stadium.
Senior starting left guard Garrett Dellinger will miss the game after having surgery recently on a high ankle sprain suffered in the loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 26.
“He had a tightrope surgery, so he will be out for this weekend’s game against Alabama,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said at his weekly press conference Monday.
Dellinger (6-5, 325) has started 31 games in his LSU career, including four in his true freshman season in 2021 after signing out of Clarkston High in Clarkston, Michigan. He has a strong chance of returning in time for the Tigers’ first game after Alabama, which is at Florida on Nov. 16.
“We’re expecting him to have a solid chance for Florida,” Kelly said.
A braided polyethylene cord, which is called the TightRope, was inserted in Dellinger’s surgery that is used to anchor the tibia and fibula ends together in the ankle area. The procedure restores the injured bone to its original position and allows for proper healing.
Redshirt freshman Paul Mubenga (6-5, 311) of Buford, Georgia, replaced Dellinger against Texas A&M and is likely to start against Alabama.
The Tigers (6-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) and the Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2 SEC) could be playing an elimination game for the 12-team College Football Playoff as a three-loss team’s chances may not be good as the season ends.
Kelly said that the plan is to red-shirt senior backup linebacker West Weeks, who has been nursing an injury, but he may play late in the season if necessary.
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