The North Carolina Tar Heels will be without standout edge rusher Kaimon Rucker for at least a few weeks.

Prior to Saturday's home game against Charlotte, Rucker was seen on the sidelines not suited up. That's a sign he will not play in the game. But not only is Rucker not playing on Saturday but UNC is likely to miss him for a few weeks per the team.

The program announced during the game in the press box that Rucker had a procedure done on his lower body and would miss a few weeks. They have not specified a return date exactly yet.

With UNC missing Rucker, it takes away a legit pass rush threat for the defense. Rucker started all 13 games for the Tar Heels last season, recording a team-high 8.5 sacks.

This year, he was expected to be UNC's top returning player on defense. He had four tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack in the season-opening win over Minnesota a week ago.

Next week UNC will host NC Central and then James Madison the following week before getting into ACC play. They travel to Durham to face off against Duke in Week 4 and hopefully, UNC can get Rucker back by then.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : Kaimon Rucker to miss a few weeks after having surgery