Nate Oats’ Alabama basketball team will be down a freshman for the 2020-21 season.

UA announced Wednesday that forward Alex Tchikou suffered an Achilles injury and will be sidelined for the entire 2020-21 season. The 6-11, 225-pound freshman underwent successful surgery on his torn right Achilles Wednesday morning and is expected to make a full recovery. The surgery was performed by Dr. Norman Waldrop of Andrews Sports Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham.

“It’s really tough to see Alex go down for the season,” Oats said via a school release. “Alex is someone who arrived in early August and had quickly established himself in the locker room. He has been a great fit with our program in terms of his work ethic and character. More importantly, he is an upbeat young man with a terrific attitude about him which will be important as he begins his rehabilitation.

“We are fortunate to have the best medical team in the nation here at The University of Alabama and they will be alongside him every step of the way. We know he’s going to come back even stronger, and we look forward to getting him on the court next season.”

Tchikou was rated 4-stars, the No. 4 player in Arizona, No. 11 power forward and No. 59 prospect overall in his recruiting class on the 247Sports Composite.