--

Chris Black

is likely to miss his first season with the

team.

The freshman wide receiver will be out 3-4 months to recover from surgery that he will need to fix an injured shoulder, Alabama coach

Nick Saban

said after practice Thursday.

Black was a heralded signee out of First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Fla., who enrolled in January at Alabama and participated in spring practice. he caught three passes for 61 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown catch from

Phillip Sims

, in the A-Day Game.

"He was doing extremely well," Saban said. "He had a really good spring. He had a great summer. He was in great shape. He was doing a really good job."

Black was expected to contribute this fall.

"He wants to play so bad he can't see straight," Saban said. "This is one of the unfortunate things. We feel bad for him, but everybody here is going to be very, very supportive, and he's going to be an excellent player for us in the future."