Texas football quarterback Quinn Ewers could be back in time for the Red River Rivalry.

At his weekly news conference on Monday, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Ewers returned to practice last week when Texas was on its bye week. He added that Ewers would be the starter over redshirt freshman Arch Manning if the game was played today against Oklahoma in the annual rivalry game played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

"If we had to play today, sure," Sarkisian said. "I want to see how he responds to extended work, and what that looks like to make sure that he's as healthy as he can be."

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Here's the latest on Ewers injury:

Quinn Ewers injury update

Ewers sustained an oblique strain during the Longhorns' 56-7 win over UTSA on Sept. 14 and missed the next two games, allowing Manning to make his first two career starts. Manning led the Longhorns to wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State.

Following Alabama's loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Texas is the No. 1 program in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25.

In Ewers' absence, Manning has thrown for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Ewers threw for 691 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions before sustaining his injury. Despite Manning's strong performances in Ewers' time out, Sarkisian has been insistent his junior signal-caller will be the starter when healthy.

Still, Sarkisian has not outright named Ewers the starter for Saturday, according to the Austin American-Statesman's David Eckert.

"I feel good about him going Saturday, but that remains to be seen," Sarkisian said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Quinn Ewers injury update: Is Texas QB playing Saturday vs Oklahoma?