Arizona's star linebacker Scooby Wright had a procedure for a lateral meniscus tear Saturday but could return for Pac-12 play.

Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright had a procedure Saturday to clean up a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee and, optimistically, could return for Pac-12 play, a source with knowledge of the situation told SI.com.

Wright, a preseason All-America for the Wildcats, suffered an unspecified knee injury in the first half of a season-opening win over Texas-San Antonio on Thursday. Previous reports indicated that the issue didn't threaten Wright's 2015 season, but doctors were even more upbeat about the prognosis after performing the procedure, the source said.

"It was better than everyone thought," the source said.

There is no official timetable for Wright’s return. Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez is expected to discuss Wright's status early next week. Still, there is at least an outside possibility that the Wildcats will have their defensive linchpin back for a Sept. 26 showdown with UCLA to open conference play.

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