EUGENE — Oregon appears to have dodged what would have been a devastating blow to its already depleted receiving corps.

Starting X receiver Juwan Johnson, who was absent from the Ducks’ Wednesday practice after leaving Tuesday’s practice early with an apparent lower-body injury, is coping with cramping and is expected to be ready for the Aug. 31 season opener against Auburn.

“Right now we’re just trying to smart about everything,” wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight said. “It’s a lot of precautionary movements. We’re getting close to game week, we know that we got to be smart, a couple of guys getting cramps and getting nicked up and bruised up. .... (Johnson)’s going to be fine. We’re expecting him to be back, I think any day. Got to be smart, I got to limit his reps. He’s going to be ready for game time."

Asked if he was confident Johnson will play in the season opener, Bouknight answered affirmatively.

“Oh absolutely,” he said. “If there was a game this week he would be ready.”

Johnson was one of two wideouts absent Wednesday as freshman Lance Wilhoite, who has been limited with an apparent hamstring injury, was also not with the Ducks during the early portion of practice.

Their absences combined with the injuries to Brenden Schooler (right foot), Mycah Pittman (right shoulder) and JR Waters (right foot), which will take between four and eight weeks to heal, left the Ducks with six healthy scholarship wideouts: Johnny Johnson III, Jaylon Redd, Bryan Addison, Josh Delgado, J.J. Tucker and Isaah Crocker. Addison, Tucker and Crocker redshirted last season, and Delgado is a true freshman.

“The main thing is developing the young guys because it can happen in a game,” Bouknight said. “We got to make sure that young guys that are coming up are to be ready and available for the game too. ... I think about the next guy that’s right behind those (injured) guys. You got to develop that guy; now he’s the starter. It happens in the game.

“Obviously, (Schooler and Pittman) are two big losses for our position, but we got some special guys. We got some young guys, Bryan Addison, who’s been stepping it up, Josh Delgado, we’re very confident with our group and what we have in place right now."