Oregon football could get Matthew Bedford back sooner than expected

Oregon football fans got some devastating news a couple of weeks ago as the Ducks were in the middle of fall camp: Indiana transfer Matthew Bedford went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury.

Bedford, a veteran transfer from the Hoosiers, was expected to be the team's starting right guard and following a knee injury, the staff was left scrambling to find his replacement. The offensive line couldn't afford to lose a key player like Bedford who started 11 games last season.

Well, fans got some good news on Wednesday when reporters spotted him at practice.

Obviously injured players can be at practice, but rarely do they suit up and go through drills with the team and that's exactly what Bedford was doing.

Bedford was spotted wearing a huge brace on his right knee which indicates that he's going to play through whatever injury he had, but his status for Week 1 is still in doubt, according to Dan Lanning.

In fact, the head coach spoke during his media session after Wednesday's practice and was asked if Bedford was in a better spot than he originally thought to which Lanning replied:

"I don't think so. What spot do you think he's in?"

- Dan Lanning

Obviously that answer was a little vague so the reporter elaborated and said that he was moving around and suited up for practice. Lanning gave an encouraging answer.

"Yeah, he's able to move around. But I don't know that he'll be able to help us in game one or not. We'll see what it looks like. We'll continue to assess it."

- Dan Lanning

With the Idaho game approaching in the next few days, it doesn't seem likely that Lanning and Co. will risk it and play him, but the fact that it's even an option at this point is encouraging.

Many believed that Bedford would be out quite some time, but Wednesday's development shows that he may only miss a game or two, at most. Let's hope it's just a precautionary Week 1 absence.