Nick Saban confirmed Monday that wide receiver Jaylen Waddle underwent surgery Saturday night in Birmingham after fracturing his ankle earlier that day on the opening kickoff of a game at Tennessee.
Saban called the surgery “very, very successful” and said Waddle’s long-term prognosis is “very good.”
Added Saban: “He’s been in the hospital since. He’s been pretty groggy. He was going to come and see me today, but he just got back and I’m probably gonna talk to him later today or tomorrow.”
Although Saban told CBS at halftime of the game that Waddle is out for the season, but said after the game that Waddle would “probably” be out for the season if he needed surgery.
On Monday, Saban did not specifically rule out Waddle’s return or leave the door open for him to come back this season.
“It’s a difficult timetable to know when a guy can come back from something like this,” Saban said. “That’s something that’s going to be ongoing. Probably six to eight weeks before he can even start real heavy rehab, then relative to your position, how fast you can come back after that is really, really up in the air.”
Saban compared the surgery to the one former Alabama running backs Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake underwent before continuing their playing careers.
Without Waddle, Alabama’s top trio at wide receiver is expected to be DeVonta Smith, John Metchie and Slade Bolden.
“You can’t replace a guy like Jaylen Waddle in terms of what his ability is,” Saban said Monday. “It’s no different than losing Allen Iverson if you’re a guy who scores 30, 40 points a game. He’s that kind of impact player.”
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.