Tua Tagovailoa's season may be over.
The Alabama quarterback suffered a serious hip injury during the second quarter of Saturday's game against Mississippi State. After being taken down by two Bulldog defenders just minutes before halftime, the 21-year-old NFL draft prospect was seen bleeding from the face and struggling to support himself on his right leg. He was then carted off the field and eventually airlifted the St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Birmingham for examination and treatment.
"We hate it that he got injured. We hate it for him. We hate it for his family. I hate it when any player on our team gets injured,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said, as reported by the New York Times. "So Godspeed to him and his entire family and our thoughts and prayers are with them and hope this is not so serious it has any long-term effect on his future as a player."
Sources told The Athletic that Tagovailoa is out for rest of the season with a dislocated hip and fractured the joint's posterior wall.
ESPN's Jim Nagy reports the Alabama junior is expected to undergo surgery either sometime tonight or tomorrow morning. He's also received word that Tagovailoa's injury could have longterm effects, as it has drawn comparisons to Bo Jackson's career-ending hip injury. However, some noted that Jackson's career came to an end not because of a fractured hip, but because of ruptured blood vessels that caused avascular necrosis.
Stay tuned as more details about Tagovailoa's condition becomes available.
