UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State outside linebacker Sean Lee will miss the upcoming season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in practice yesterday.

"They expect to do the surgery in two or three weeks," Lee's father, Craig, said this afternoon.

Sean Lee, who will be a senior this fall, was injured near the end of practice yesterday. His knee buckled on a non-contact play while he was chasing quarterback Daryll Clark.

Lee, 6 feet 2 and 234 pounds, earned first-team All-America honors from Pro Football Weekly last year and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection after finishing second in the conference in tackles to teammate Dan Connor.

Lee, from Upper St. Clair High School, was not made available for interviews after today's scrimmage, which he watched from the sideline on crutches.

"It's been a tough day," his father said, "but Sean will get through it."

Lee, a two-year starter who has a redshirt year left, will wrap up his career now in 2009. He is trying to turn his season-ending injury, which will require nine months of rehabilitation, into a positive.

"I have a responsibility to the team to help do everything I can this year in what might be a non-conventional way," he said in a statement. "I have to turn this into a positive. It's a bump in the road. I'm excited about the team we have and the kind of season we can have. It's a great opportunity for a young guy."