The New England Patriots lost center Ted Karras to a knee injury in their loss to the Houston Texans Sunday night. However, there’s hope that they will get him back by season’s end.

On Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Karras is that the knee injury is believed to be an MCL sprain, based off early tests. Rapoport adds that “the hope is that it’s something he can return from.”

Karras left Sunday’s game after a Texans player fell on his leg awkwardly at the end of a play. The Patriots immediately announced that he would not return to the game. However, the report indicates that Karras is likely to have avoided a major injury.

The Karras injury is a tough break for the Patriots offensive line, which had finally gotten healthy with the return of left tackle Isaiah Wynn last week. After Karras left Sunday’s game, the Patriots turned to backup James Ferentz at center.

Ferentz marks the third center Tom Brady has worked with this season. The team lost captain David Andrews to blood clots before the start of the season before moving Karras over from guard. Ferentz, who has seen limited action in his NFL career, has bounced on and off the roster since joining the team in 2017.