A knee injury could force Texas Tech transfer Wannah Bail to miss part of his first season at UCLA. Of course, that will only be the case if he's deemed eligible immediately with the Bruins in 2013-14.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports reports this morning that Bail underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee on June 28 and will "miss about fourth months." With that date in mind, Bail would be expected back sometime in late October or early November, so the injury likely wouldn't cause him to miss many -- if any -- games if is in fact he's eligible to play.

The 6-foot-7 Bail is a player termed by Recruiting Nation in 2012 as an "off-the-charts athlete" and on a UCLA roster filled with offensive-oriented players up front (David Wear, Travis Wear, Kyle Anderson, Tony Parker) his role as an energy player who can defend will be especially important for Steve Alford's crew. In fact, Bail and junior wing Norman Powell will probably be the team's two most reliable defenders in 2013-14.