Head football coach Bob Spoo will not coach the season opener at Illinois on Sept. 2 and may not coach his first game until Oct. 7 against Southeast Missouri.

Spoo, entering his 20th year as Eastern’s head coach, is set to undergo surgery in St. Louis next Tuesday and will miss four to six weeks recovering.

Assistant coach and offensive coordinator Mark Hutson is taking over the day-to-day duties of the program.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Spoo and his family at this time,” said director of athletics Rich McDuffie in a press release. “We are confident this will be a successful surgery and anticipate Coach to return to team as soon as he feels ready.”

Eastern is not commenting on Spoo’s medical situation, citing privacy issues.