Tennessee rising sophomore cornerback Rashaan Gaulden is expected to miss "about six weeks," coach Butch Jones said Saturday, after recently undergoing surgery to repair a hand injury.

Jones said Gaulden was able to play through the injury last season, but he's now expected to be healthy and cleared to return in time for summer workouts.

While Jones didn't offer details of the injury —Â he referred to it as "just a hand" — he acknowledged that it "wasn't tendon-oriented." Jones said that "was positive news" for Gaulden, who spent a large portion of Tennessee's first 10 spring practices working as the Vols' first-team nickelback.

"It wasn't a tendon, which is great. That was positive news, so we anticipate him being out about six weeks," Jones said after Tennessee's practice Saturday at Neyland Stadium. "And then, if everything goes according to plan, he'll be back being able to go through our summer strength and conditioning program. ...

"It's something that he played through last year, and I think it set back his development a little bit in the weight room. But to his credit, he played through it, really did some good things this offseason, and we were able to gain, obviously, valuable repetitions in spring, which he needed."

Despite the injury, Jones said Gaulden "had a very, very productive spring for us."

"He's going to be a very good player for us," Jones said. "Love what he brings to the table. ... He's put the size on, and now, with the hand surgery, he'll be able to put the size on that's needed. But, again, he's matured a lot in our program. Where he's at in one short year is remarkable, and he's very intelligent and he's very driven. He knows what he has to do."