Nick Saban reveals Tua Tagovailoa had setback in recovery from hand injury

Alabama scrimmaged on Saturday, but sophomore QB Tua Tagovailoa didn’t participate, raising questions about whether his thumb injury was bothering him again.

After the scrimmage, coach Nick Saban revealed that was indeed the case with the National Championship Game hero, and that the Crimson Tide erred on the side of caution with him.

Saban said he’s not sure at this point whether Tagovailoa will be back in action this spring:

Saban on soph. QB @Tuaamann_ (hand), who did not participate in today's scrimmage: "Tua had a little bit of a setback with his hand, so doctors are trying to evaluate the best course of action and what we do with him the rest of spring."

— Alex Byington (@abyingtonTD) April 14, 2018

Considering Tagovailoa is battling junior QB Jalen Hurts for the starting job, this is bad news for the talented left-hander.

However, the decision was unlikely to be made this spring, anyway, so the battle will continue when summer practices start. By then, Tagovailoa should be fully healthy and ready to go.