AUBURN | An Auburn offensive line that’s had its share of struggles this season will have to move forward without its most versatile and perhaps best player.

Junior Brandon Council, who came to Auburn from Akron as a graduate transfer during the offseason, injured his knee in Saturday’s 35-28 win at Ole Miss.

“Pretty tough news for Council. So, he’s going to be out for the year. He had a pretty severe knee injury," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "That was real tough because he’s really coming on. He’s a super person and a really good player. That’s going to be a tough blow. "

It’s possible the Tar Heel, N.C. native will return for next season. He’s played mainly guard for the Tigers through the first five games, but has also gotten work at both tackle and center.

“You know, we hadn’t talked about (Council returning). I would think there would be a good chance, but we had not talked about that," Malzahn said.

Redshirt freshman Keiondre Jones replaced Council at right guard against Ole Miss. Austin Troxell has mainly worked at tackle this fall, but also has experience at guard. One of those two is expected to step into the starting lineup this week.

"We were just getting in a rhythm, there’s no doubt, but Keiondre Jones is a guy who has a lot of reps with those guys," Malzahn said. "He finished the game and I thought he graded out well the two series he was in. Then, of course, we got Austin Troxell too and he’s capable of playing multiple positions too."

Auburn hosts LSU next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.