By Andrea Morris
The star quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide isn’t letting a terrible hip injury discourage future plans or his faith.
On Nov. 16, Tagovailoa was tackled by two Mississippi State defenders and had to be airlifted to the hospital for evaluation, Sports Spectrum reports.
He suffered a dislocated hip and underwent successful surgery on Nov. 18. The injury will require that he miss the remainder of the 2019 season and possibly the entire 2020 season.
Whether Tagovailoa will ever play football again is unknown, but he hasn’t shown any fear about what lies ahead in the future.
The 21-year-old tweeted “Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes! God always has a plan.”
Tagovailoa is well-known for his strong Christian faith and for wearing a black cross on his face when he plays football.
His Twitter bio says it all: “1 Corinthians 2:9 HIM 13EFORE ME”
That Bible verse from Corinthians says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Dr. Louis Levitt, vice president and secretary for The Centers for Advanced Orthopedics told CBS Sports that Tagovailoa sustained a complicated injury.
“It is a matter of letting the wound heal, pray he doesn’t get an infection; he is young and healthy, hopefully, he would not. Then, it is the rehabilitation process.”
Tagovailoa has received an outpouring of prayers and support from friends and fans.
Former Alabama running back Shaun Alexander tweeted that God has prepared a perfect plan for him.
“My confidence in life is not in my gifts, abilities, awards or accomplishments. My confidence comes from my faith in Jesus. His plan is perfect. Every part of the plan is PERFECT. Love you Tuaman. Walkthrough this like you was built to. Finish the Game. A legend is being made.”
The Alabama Diehards shared a video of Tagovailoa in good spirits the day before his surgery.
The Tagovailoa family released a statement Tuesday morning thanking everyone around the world for their continued prayers, love and support over the past few days.
“We would like to thank all of the Alabama family and everyone across the world for the prayers and outpouring of love and support for our son and our family. We felt the unceasing prayer, and words can’t express how overwhelming and uplifting that has been for us. We have total faith in God’s plan for Tua, and we know his plan is never wrong. God’s grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness in our lives has never been more evident, despite this setback.”
“The care and support Tua and our family has received is nothing short of amazing, and we can’t express our appreciation enough for Dr. Cain, Jeff Allen, Coach Saban, Tua’s teammates, the Alabama Athletics department, our pastors and all of the doctors and nurses that have done such an outstanding job of taking care of Tua. God Bless and Roll Tide!”