No. 1 Oregon ducks lost a key part of their team at wide receiver Tez Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in Oregon’s 38-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, MI on Saturday night.

Coach from Oregon Dan Lanning met with the media Monday night and addressed Johnson’s injury.

“(Tez Johnson) is going to go down in the near future, but I anticipate getting Tez back,” Lanning said.

Lanning went on to say that the severity of Johnson’s injury was not as serious as initially feared. Johnson is not expected to have surgery and is expected to return in the coming weeks.

Johnson suffered a shoulder injury on Oregon’s first drive of the game against the Wolverines. Johnson spent about two minutes in the injury tent before going to the locker room with the Oregon practice staff. He took x-rays and returned to the sideline in street clothes and wearing a sling on his right arm/shoulder.

“This guy is a winner, in every part of that word — what it means to be a winner,” Lanning said after beating Michigan. “Tez is that for us and we always talk about opportunities, you know, the next mountain. … He’s an unselfish player who plays with passion and crazy energy and we sure would have loved to have him out there tonight.”

Before leaving the game, Johnson caught a pass for 11 yards and electrified a 21-yard punt return in the first quarter.

Johnson is a beloved teammate and fan favorite. As a child, Johnson visualized scoring touchdowns at Autzen Stadium and celebrating to the sound of horns blaring through Eugene. Now in his final season at his “dream school,” Johnson is helping Oregon to an undefeated 9-0 record as major contenders Big Ten The championship and College Football Playoff.

On Instagram, Johnson changed his profile picture to a Dragon Ball Z character in a recovery room.

Catching passes from brother Bo Nix last season, Johnson tore through Oregon single-season receptions record with 86 catches. His 2023 stats jump off the page, leading the power five with 727 yards after the catch and racking up 1,182 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

This season, Johnson’s 64 receptions is just 22 shy of breaking his own Oregon record of 86 in 2023. Dillon Gabriel and Johnson have established a quick chemistry on and off the field as friends.

“Every week we’re getting more dynamic,” Johnson told Oregon Ducks SI reporter Bri Amaranthus. “I feel like it’s just the quarterback we have — how he thinks about new plays every day. He’s always willing to try the craziest things to see if it works … We go out there right on Saturday and score on (Gabriel’s game .) It gives us a lot of confidence that we can do almost anything.”

Look for Oregon wide receivers Evan Stewart, Traeshon Holden and Justius Lowe to step up in Johnson’s absence. Next on the depth chart are Jeremiah McClellan and Jurrion Dickey. Oregon hosts the Maryland Terrapins at 4:00 PM PT on Saturday, November 9th Autzen Stadium.