Georgia OL Tate Ratledge undergoes tightrope surgery on left ankle
ATHENS, Ga. — The left ankle injury suffered by starting right guard Tate Ratledge in Georgia’s 13-12 win will keep him out at least a month. According to Kirby Smart, who spoke to the media after Tuesday’s practice, Ratledge underwent tightrope surgery on Monday to speed up his recovery from a high-ankle sprain. The surgery has a typical timeline of a four to six-week return.
It’s a procedure Georgia fans are familiar with at this point. Three Bulldogs had that same procedure last season, starting with Lawson Luckie. The sophomore tight end had tightrope surgery in August and returned approximately two months later. With that said, he was a true freshman and missed a significant portion of preseason camp and several weeks of practice while recovering.
Starting right tackle Amarius Mims went down in week three of the 2024 season. After undergoing tightrope, the mammoth lineman returned to game action a little less than eight weeks later but he was back on the practice field after a little more than five weeks.
Star tight end Brock Bowers also suffered a high-ankle sprain and underwent the procedure. Bowers was back on the field against Ole Miss a little less than four weeks post operation. There is no firm timeline on recovery from tightrope surgery, evidenced by Georgia’s history with with the procedure. Timeline on the knee sprain is two to four weeks.
Looking at the Bulldogs schedule, a return for the Florida game, which comes after the second bye week of the season, seems to be best case and most likely. That would give him the full month of November and whatever post-season opportunities Georgia earns.
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Ratledge has started at least one game in four straight seasons at Georgia. The first start of his career came in the 2021 season opener against Clemson and his night lasted just a few plays. The Rome native suffered a foot injury that required surgery and it knocked him out for the rest of the season. He recaptured that right guard job in 2022 and started 14 of 15 games, helping Georgia to a second straight national title. Ratledge then started 13 of 14 games in 2023, missing the Georgia Tech game with a minor knee injury.
When Ratledge left the game on Saturday, he was replaced by fourth-year junior Micah Morris. Morris has piled up over 500 snaps the past two seasons while rotating at left guard with Dylan Fairchild and some at right guard. Xavier Truss, who has started the first three games at right tackle, also has experience at guard.
Ratledge is also one of Georgia’s reserve centers and potentially the next man up should Jared Wilson get hurt. That back-up job now belongs to Drew Bobo, a third-year sophomore.
