Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa suffered an apparent ankle injury in the first half of their Week 8 game against Tennessee. On a rollout to his left, Tagovailoa was tackled by the ankles and appeared to get them twisted on the way down. He entered the medical tent after that and then headed to the locker room for further evaluation.
After the game, head coach Nick Saban told ESPN that Tagovailoa has a high ankle sprain and could miss 1-2 weeks. That would put him on track to return against the LSU Tigers on November 9.
Alabama fans lining up to donate their ankles after Tua Tagovailoa heads to the injury tent in the 2Q against Tennessee…#RollTide #NCAAF
pic.twitter.com/YsaeRg0REk— SBR Sports Picks (@SBRSportsPicks) October 20, 2019
But prior to this, there was cause for concern. Following halftime, Saban confirmed to ESPN that Tagovailoa had some sort of sprained ankle and would not be returning to the game. He was soon spotted heading into an ambulance.
Many wondered why Tagovailoa was getting into an ambulance for further medical attention. According to PFN’s injury analyst Duane Scotti, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, there could have been further damage.
Definitely medial ankle sprain at a minimum of the deltoid ligament. Possible fracture. They will X-ray and if negative for fracture they will send him for MRI to see severity of ligament damage.
The timeline for an injury like this: If it is a Fracture, it will take 6 weeks to heal and 12 weeks for return to football. No fracture is variable based upon severity of ligament sprain. A return could be as early as 2 weeks to as most as 8 weeks for grade 3.
There were conflicting reports about whether or not Tagovailoa left the stadium, but according to ESPN’s Molly McGrath, Tagovailoa was still at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Per McGrath, he changed out of his uniform and appeared to be favoring his left leg.
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Prior to the injury, the Heisman Trophy candidate threw for 155 yards and one interception on 12 passing attempts. On the season, he has completed 134 passes on 182 attempts, throwing for 2,011 yards, 27 touchdowns and just one interception, which occurred in the game against Tennessee. Mac Jones, a sophomore, is currently in the game at quarterback for the Crimson Tide.
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