ATHENS — Colbie Young hasn’t played since suffering a leg injury against Ole Miss on Oct. 19. It was a serious injury at the time.

But it may not have been a season-ending injury, as Kirby Smart explained on Sunday.

“We went over some injuries today, and his name came up,” Smart said. “I think it would be a stretch, and we’re so far off. I was not thinking of being able to get him back when the injury occurred in the initial timeline. There has been some optimism with his rehab and his recovery, but it was more for after the initial game if we were able to advance. But again, I don’t know. I think we’ll find out over the next, you know, 20-something days, we’ll find a lot more out.”

Young was Georgia’s leading receiver prior to the injury. He’s caught 23 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown on the season.

Georgia saw Noah Thomas play just one snap against Alabama in the SEC championship game due to a back injury. Potentially getting both back would be significant for the Georgia passing attack.

Georgia’s next game is scheduled for Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET. That will be against the Ole Miss-Tulane winner.

If Georgia were to win that game, the Bulldogs will play again on Jan. 8 in the Fiesta Bowl. The three teams Georgia could play would be the Ohio State Buckeyes, Miami Hurricanes or Texas A&M Aggies.

Young was not the only Bulldog Smart provided a health update on, as Georgia coach also shared positive news on running back Chauncey Bowens.

He left the game in the fourth quarter after ripping off a 19-yard run, the longest of the afternoon for Georgia.

“Yeah, he landed on his back on that run he broke out on,” Smart said. “And he was not, he was fine after the game. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but he landed on his back and he was in a great deal of pain and happened a couple other games in the season when he when he fell there and landed on it, but he seems to be fine.”

Bowens had missed the Charlotte and Georgia Tech games earlier this season with a leg injury. He is the team’s second leading rusher on the season with 516 yards. He also has 6 rushing touchdowns.

Georgia will have a lengthy layoff before returning to action. All four teams that had first-round byes last year lost in the quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs are the only ones who earned a first-round bye in back-to-back seasons.

“I don’t know that I can provide the layoff with any excuse. I think that’s what the general public and the people on the outside world want to say that the layoff had to do with it. I think it had something to do with a good football team we played against.

Georgia’s next game is set for Jan. 1, with ESPN broadcasting the game at 8 p.m. ET.

Georgia football injury report