Stanley Havili

USC cornerback T.J. Bryant had surgery to repair a broken left cheek bone Thursday after getting into a fight with teammate Stanley Havili last week.

Bryant will be out for at least three weeks, according to coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin said the altercation happened Friday during a "high intensity" workout and that he will look into further details before  deciding whether or not to suspend Havili. 

"This was a situation where Stanley tried to step in without coaches being there," Kiffin said. "There was some talking back and forth and some pushing and obviously it didn't end well.  It's something we're not excited about right now, but we're looking into it."

Havili would not say whether he punched Bryant in the face or not, but he did express regret about the incident.

"I feel terrible about it, horrible about it," he said. "Emotions were high. When emotions are high, intelligence is down. It was an intense workout, and I let it get the best of me. We shouldn't have gone that far."

Kiffin said the fight was out of character for Havili, a normally mild-mannered senior and team leader.

"It's very out of character," Kiffin said. "Sometimes people show leadership in the wrong ways. And this was a situation where Stanley tried to step in without coaches being there, and tried to take a leadership role."

Kiffin was aware of the fight as early as Tuesday evening but said he was told that no serious injuries had been sustained.

It wasn't until Bryant took a physical later in the week that the extent of the injury was discovered.

"I saw him Monday and Tuesday," Kiffin said. "I didn't notice anything, he didn't mention anything, and he was ready to go. At the time, we thought he was practicing."

Kiffin said initial x-rays were confusing but a second evaluation on Wednesday revealed the broken bone, at which time it was determined that Bryant would have surgery.

Bryant, a junior, played mostly special teams last season but was competing with redshirt freshman Torin Harris for the second starting cornerback spot. The surgery sets him back in that regard, but he will get a shot to compete as soon as he's healthy.

"As soon as he gets back, we'll throw him right back in," Kiffin said.

To reach editor Patrick Crawley, click here.