Early in Thursday’s Egg Bowl, star Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald suffered a gruesome ankle injury that knocked him out of the game.

Fitzgerald’s injury was determined to be a dislocated ankle, and he’ll also miss the Bulldogs’ upcoming bowl game — a huge blow to the team.

However, there is a bit of good news. According to Will Sammon of The Clarion-Ledger, Fitzgerald’s father is optimistic that the star quarterback will be ready to play this spring:

Derrick Fitzgerald, Nick’s father, said he was told Nick would be “good to go before spring ball,” and there is a six-to-eight week recovery time before rehab starts.

Fitzgerald had surgery on the injured ankle on Friday and will begin the rehab process as soon as he can.

The Mississippi State Twitter account also provided an update on the injured Bulldog, saying they expect Fitzgerald to make a full recovery:

https://twitter.com/HailStateFB/status/934135834156118016

You never want to see a star player (or any player, for that matter) go down with an injury like Fitzgerald’s, so hopefully he is able to be back at 100 percent in time for spring practices.