The California Golden Bears will be without defensive lineman Brett Johnson for the 2022 season after he suffered a lower-body injury during team practice on Thursday, head coach Justin Wilcox announced on Saturday.

This will be the second consecutive campaign that Cal will not feature Johnson. He was sidelined for the entirety of the season as he continued to recover from surgery for a broken hip that was caused by an automobile accident in March 2021. Johnson’s season-ending lower-body ailment is not related to his hip injury from last year.

Wilcox noted during a press conference on Saturday that he is “confident” that Johnson, who recorded a combined 3.0 sacks in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, will be a full-go for the 2023 campaign.

“Brett is one of the toughest and most dedicated football players I have ever been around,” Wilcox said. “Although this is a difficult situation for him, I am confident that he will return to the field in 2023. He has the unwavering support of all his coaches, teammates and everyone in our football program. It is important for us to rally around each other as a team and respond positively to this adversity.

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“Just devastating for him and everyone is hurting for him … Brett will be back and he will be at full strength, but it's going to be some time from now. He will miss this season and we will be there every step of the way to support him.”

Johnson had been a regular in practices over the past months after being cleared to return to the field. He was set to lead Cal’s front seven unit after the team lost multiple key contributors from last year, including linebacker Cameron Goode. Following a 2021 campaign where he led the team in sacks with 6.5, Goode wound up being a seventh-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2022 NFL Draft.

For now, the Golden Bears sure are going to call upon several defensive talents to step up in Johnson’s absence, including defensive end Ethan Saunders, who logged 2.5 sacks last year.

Cal is set to kick off its season with a home matchup against UC Davis on Sept. 3.