Alabama coach Nick Saban had hip replacement surgery on Monday and is expected to return to work “soon,” according to statement released by the school Monday evening.
“Coach Saban underwent successful robotic-assisted, right-hip replacement surgery this afternoon with our hip specialist, Dr. Benton Emblom, and the team at Andrews Sports Medicine,” team surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain of the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Ala., said in the statement.
“Coach is resting comfortably and we anticipate a full recovery. He should be able to return to work in the very near future, and we’ll have him back out on the golf course, with hopefully a few more yards off the tee, as soon as possible.”
Saban, 67, told reporters earlier this month that his hip had bothered him throughout the spring. He planned to have an evaluation but already saw himself back in action quickly, noting, “They say even if it’s the worst-case scenario, it may be six or eight weeks.”
“I want to get it fixed because I don’t want to coach for one more year — I want to coach for a lot of more years,” Saban said. “So, whenever things like this come up, I want to be aggressive and proactive to get it taken care of. We’ll certainly do that, and we have really good people to do it and I don’t think it should be a big deal.”
Alabama typically begins fall practice in early August, giving Saban more than three months to recover.
The Crimson Tide, winners of five championships during Saban’s 12 seasons at the helm, open their season Aug. 31 against Duke.
