In a news release, Sooners coach Brent Venables announced that starting quarterback John Mateer will undergo surgery on Wednesday, Sept. 24 to fix a right-hand injury sustained in the Sooners’ win vs. Auburn. The expectation is for the Heisman Trophy candidate to ‘return to action sometime this season.’
Oklahoma mentioned in its news release that Mateer sustained his injury during the first quarter of the Sooners’ SEC opener against Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 20. Backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who split time last season with Auburn transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold, will start in Oklahoma’s next game on Saturday, Oct. 4 against Kent State.
Mateer is coming off his second ranked win at Oklahoma in Week 4, as he led the Sooners to a 24-17 win over then-No. 25 Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 20. The Washington State transfer has rushed for at least one touchdown and passed for at least one touchdown in each of his last 10 games dating back to last year with the Cougars.
The 6-foot-1 quarterback is off to a hot start with the Sooners, who are ranked No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and 4-0 on the season with two ranked wins against Michigan and Auburn. Oklahoma is currently on bye in Week 5 of the season.
Here’s the latest on Mateer’s injury:
John Mateer injury update
Oklahoma announced on Sept. 23 that Mateer will undergo surgery on Sept. 24 to fix a hand injury that he sustained in the Sooners’ SEC opener win against the Tigers.
Mateer sustained his injury in the first quarter vs. Auburn, per Oklahoma’s news release. He played through the injury for the remainder of the game, completing 24 of 36 passes for 271 passing yards and one touchdown. He also added a 9-yard rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score for Oklahoma.
‘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 in a statement. ‘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.’
How long is John Mateer out?
Oklahoma didn’t give a clear timetable for Mateer’s return in its news release, as the Sooners said he is expected back on the field ‘sometime this season.’
ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Mateer is expected to miss ‘about a month’ of the season and that the surgery he will undergo is ‘considered straight-forward.’
The Sooners play Texas on Saturday, Oct. 11 — two weeks and three days after Mateer’s scheduled surgery.
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