Cal Football: Keenan Allen Has Ankle Surgery, Will Return For Summer Workouts

Jeff Tedford is breaking news for us!

Keenan will miss Spring Ball due to ankle surgery tomorrow-will be back for summer workouts and be fully recovered for the season- Go Bears!

— Jeff Tedford (@CoachTedford) March 7, 2012

This might not be so bad. Allen has nothing to prove in spring and his starting spot is assured. He just needs to stay healthy.

It's the players behind him that need to figure out their roles in the system. Cal is going to be breaking in a whole new wide receiver depth chart this year, and it'll be important for the guys behind Allen to get reps. It'll also give the Cal quarterbacks a better rapport with the rest of their wideouts rather than relying too heavily on Allen to get them yards (as Zach Maynard tended to do last season).

Redshirt freshman Maurice Harris figures to factor into the rotation, as will Bryce McGovern (the Monte Vista walk-on who saw playing time as a true frosh), and Jackson Bouza (who had a nice performance in the Big Game. With the freshman five not arriving until summer camp, this'll be an important chance for these guys to step up in the rotation and prove they're worthy of being that second receiver opposite Allen in the spring depth chart.

There will be plenty of important spring battles to follow, but you'd have to say finding wide receiver depth is paramount.

Update on how Keenan injured his ankle.

Keenan injured ankle playing basketball last week.Tweeted today that he messed up ligament & it will come out of socket if he rolls it again

— John Breech (@johnbreech) March 7, 2012