One of Nebraska's more trusted bullpen arms will be unavailable this weekend and for much of the season.

Sophomore reliever Tucker Timmerman will undergo surgery -- likely next week -- after taking a 106-mph one-hopper to the face last weekend, NU baseball coach Will Bolt said Wednesday. Timmerman is still expected back at some point this spring.

"Saw him today, he's in good spirits," Bolt said. "He can see out of his eye now, which is a major improvement from where he was. But we'll be without him for an extended period of time."

The injury occurred late Saturday against Vanderbilt and left the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Beatrice grad lying on the mound for about a minute before walking off with a towel over his bloodied face. Timmerman later posed smiling for a picture that showed the damage to the left side of his face including his nose.

Timmerman will undergo a procedure whenever the swelling subsides. It's possible he could initially have vision issues, though he'll at least be able to keep his right arm in shape.

"Some pretty bad stuff going on there, breaks," Bolt said.

Timmerman logged an 8.10 ERA across 16.2 innings and 15 appearances as a freshman last spring before a strong offseason.

He entered in the sixth inning against No. 16 Vanderbilt with Nebraska ahead 4-3 and went 2.1 frames while allowing one run in the eventual Husker victory.

Nebraska already viewed its bullpen depth as a strength and will need it more in the weeks ahead. The Huskers didn't use all of their high-leverage arms even in a four-game weekend in Arizona -- Casey Daiss and TJ Coats among them -- along with multiple freshmen.