Lawson injury more serious

AUBURN, Ala. | Carl LawsonClick [rl]Here to view this Link.'s injury has turned out more serious than previously thought. Gus MalzahnClick [rl]Here to view this Link. is unsure when or if Auburn's best defensive player will return this season.

"He's going to be out for an extended period of time. I'm not ready to say exactly when that is," Malzahn said. "We're hopeful we can get him back before this season is out."

Malzahn would not rule out potential surgery on Lawson's hip, which was injured in the first half of the Tigers' opener against Louisville.

"Right now we're hoping not. We'll see," said Malzahn when asked about surgery. "He's going to be out for an extended period of time. It's a little worse than we first thought, but we're hoping to have him back. It's not like the ACL injury 'Hey, he's out for the season.' We're hoping to have him back. That's best-case scenario."

After missing all of last season with a knee injury, Lawson got off to a dominating start against Louisville with four tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 sack and three quarterback hurries in the first half.

He landed hard on his hip during the first half, managing to play through the injury for a couple of series before being sidelined for the entire second half.

He hasn't played since and was on crutches before the Jacksonville State game. He didn't travel with the team to LSU.

"He's disappointed, Malzahn said. "He's a great competitor. He's a leader. He's probably our defensive leader. Anytime you lose a guy like that, and he's been through it; this is the second time, it's tough on him. He's worked extremely, extremely hard to get back. Then the first game he plays he gets another injury. He's discouraged and I'm trying to just encourage him.

"He'll work extremely hard to get back and he'll do everything in his power to get back before the end of the year. We'll just see where that goes."

The Auburn-Mississippi State game will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.