As it turns out, Tyler Bray‘s sideline diagnosis was dead-nuts accurate.
Both the Knoxville News Sentinel and CBS Sports.com‘s Tony Barnhart are reporting that X-rays have confirmed the Tennessee starting quarterback suffered a broken thumb on his right (throwing) hand in the loss to Georgia Saturday. As a result, Bray will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks.
Bray is expected to see a specialist in the near future and an MRI could change the timeline for a return, although it’s not expected he’d be able to come back any earlier than a month. Based on the initial prognosis, it appears the earliest Bray could return would be Nov. 12 against Arkansas, meaning he would miss SEC games against LSU, Alabama and South Carolina as well as a non-conference game against Middle Tennessee State.
The school has yet to comment on Bray’s status.
With Bray sidelined, the starting duties will likely fall to Matt Simms. The senior started the first eight games of the 2010 season before being replaced by Bray.
UPDATED 5:11 p.m. ET: UT has confirmed the reports that Bray suffered a broken thumb, although they write in the release that the expected recovery time is six weeks. If that timeline comes to fruition, Bray would not return until the regular-season finale against Kentucky.
