BATON ROUGE — LSU football coach Brian Kelly provided some insight into the extent of senior left guard Garrett Dellinger's injury.

Dellinger suffered a high ankle sprain late in the second quarter of the LSU's 38-23 loss at Texas A&M last Saturday night.

"We're hoping this week becomes a recovery week for him," Kelly told reporters following the team's practice Tuesday.

No. 16 LSU (6-2, 3-1 SEC) is off this week and returns to action against rival No. 14 Alabama at Tiger Stadium in what is a pseudo-College Football Playoff elimination game next Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC).

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Dellinger has started seven of the Tigers' eight games this season and for his career has 30 starts while playing in 41 total games. The guard sat out the Nicholls State game earlier this season with what was described as an "upper body injury."

He was replaced by freshman Paul Mubenga when he exited the game in the second quarter at A&M.

LSU's offensive line, even with Dellinger in the lineup, as struggled somewhat and been inconsistent this season mostly in run blocking. But if Dellinger is unable to go against Alabama and potentially beyond, it would be a big loss for LSU.

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football coach Brian Kelly on Garrett Dellinger's injury status