Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson will return to practice today, head coach Gus Malzahn said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Lawson, a redshirt sophomore, injured his hip in the Tigers’ season opener against Louisville and has not played since then. Malzahn did not say if Lawson would play Saturday against Ole Miss, or how much he might play.

“Carl Lawson will practice for the first time today, which should give our guys a lift,” Malzahn said. “We’ll see where he’s at. I’m not going to say right now that he’s going to play this Saturday, but the fact that he’s out there practicing will be good from a leadership standpoint if nothing else.”

When he returns to the field, Lawson should help an Auburn pass rush that ranks 13th in the SEC with just 11 sacks. Lawson has one of those sacks.

In 2013, as a true freshman, Lawson had 20 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks for the SEC champion Tigers. He redshirted last year after tearing his ACL.

The Tigers host Ole Miss at noon on Saturday. The game will be shown on ESPN.