The hip injury that Tua Tagovailoa suffered during Saturday’s game against Mississippi State has been compared to the one that ultimately ended Bo Jackson’s legendary football career, but that is apparently not something the Alabama quarterback needs to be concerned about.
Tagovailoa underwent surgery on Monday, and the doctor who performed it, Dr. Lyle Cain, said the procedure was successful and Tua’s “prognosis is excellent.” According to ESPN’s Laura Rutledge, Cain also said the injury does not present the same risks and potential complications as the one Jackson suffered in the early 1990s.
Important note on Tua from Dr. Cain: his hip injury is completely different from Bo Jackson’s. Bo didn’t know his injury was severe & kept playing on it, causing irreparable damage. Docs acted quickly for Tua & after successful surgery today, I’m told experts expect full recovery
— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) November 18, 2019
The point is that the hip was already compromised before that and he didn’t know how bad it was.
— Laura Rutledge (@LauraRutledge) November 18, 2019
Even if the two injuries were similar, it sounds like they were handled a lot differently. That should be good news for Tagovailoa going forward.
There has already been a lot of talk that Tagovailoa may not play in 2020, but it is too early to know if that is the case. He has long been viewed as a potential No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and he may still go early in the first round if teams are confident in the early prognosis that has been given.
If you saw how much pain Tagovailoa was in after suffering the injury, you knew right away how serious it was. Fortunately, all indications have been that he will be able to play football at a high level again.
