Alabama head football coach Nick Saban will go under the knife Monday, but his surgery is not expected to have long-term ramifications for his coaching career.
Saban will have hip replacement surgery, but the 67-year-old plans to coach at Alabama for years to come, he told USA Today. (RELATED: Nick Saban Discusses Possible Playoff Expansion)
“I don’t want to coach for one more year,” Saban said. “I want to coach for a lot of more years.”
Saban announced after Alabama’s spring football game that he had been dealing with pain in his hip throughout the spring, and said that he planned to address the issue.
Our prayers go out to Nick Saban tomorrow for his right hip replacement surgery. We hope everything goes well! ????????
Despite the pain he’s been going through….of course he still has to joke with us about his injury ???? More details tonight at 10 on @waff48 pic.twitter.com/sFy0qYfcoP
— Paloma Villicana WAFF (@PalomaWaff48) April 22, 2019
The worst case scenario for Saban appears to be a 6-8 week recovery. While it shouldn’t affect his quality of life too much, the coach still lamented to USA Today that it will probably keep him off the golf course for awhile.
Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
“The only thing I hate about it is, I’ll have to not play golf for six weeks or so,” Saban said.
What a legend. Obviously, we should all keep the greatest coach in the history of college football in our prayers today.
Let’s hope for a safe and speedy recovery.