The junior quarterback underwent surgery in Houston, Texas, on Monday after suffering a dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture late in the first half of Alabama’s 38-7 road win over Mississippi State last week.

“Tua’s prognosis is excellent, and we expect him to make a full recovery,” Alabama orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lyle Cain said in a statement, as per ESPN. “He will return to Tuscaloosa in the next several days to begin his rehab.”

Following the injury, Alabama coach Nick Saban came under criticism for what some perceived was a needless risk in leaving Tagovailoa on the field with the Crimson Tide already 35-7 ahead with the clock ticking down in the first half.

Last month, Tagovailoa underwent “tightrope” surgery to address a high-ankle sprain in time to be fit for the game LSU on November 9—which the Crimson Tide ultimately lost 46-41—but Saban stood by his decision to play him on Saturday.

“The guy was healthy,” he said in his press conference on Tuesday.

“He didn’t have a problem with his ankle, and it certainly didn’t look like he had a problem with his ankle, which would have been the only reason not to play him in the game. It’s an SEC game.”

Asked whether he had gambled with one of his star players’ health, Saban insisted he was not in the business of second-guessing his decisions.

“What if we wouldn’t have played him and not won the game? How can you assume that you would win a game by not playing the best players?” he explained.

“I never, ever have done that and don’t intend to do that in the future. That’s the only way you can be fair to players, and that’s the only way that you can be fair to the team.”

Tagovailoa was widely touted as a potential first-overall pick at the NFL draft next year, but the injury could drastically change that scenario. It also remains to be seen whether he will opt to forego his senior year—as it was widely assumed he would do before the injury—or whether he will choose to return to Alabama for a further season.

For the time being, Alabama will have to do without him for the next two games, with Mac Jones set to line up under center against Western Carolina on Saturday and against Auburn in the Iron Bowl on November 30.

The No.15 Tigers are Alabama’s only chance of defeating a ranked program this season and earn a College Football Playoff spot, but even a win against Auburn may not be enough for the Crimson Tide to crack the top four.

As shown in the graph below provided by Statista, Alabama remained at No.5 in the latest CFP rankings for the second consecutive week on Tuesday.

With no SEC Championship Game to speak of, the Crimson Tide will need all the help it can get to avoid missing out on the playoff for the first time since the CFP inception in 2014.

Crucially, however, the selection committee indicated it had not yet evaluated Alabama without Tagovailoa.

“Our job is to evaluate the games through Week 12 and obviously we’re aware of the injury to the quarterback late in the second quarter of last week’s game,” said CFP Committee chair Rob Mullens.

“But Alabama continued on to a convincing win […] so it didn’t impact the rankings this week.”

Convincing as the win may have been, Alabama scored only three points since Jones replaced Tagovailoa and the Tide will need him to be much better in the next two games.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday.

When and where is the game?

Alabama hosts Western Carolina at the Bryan-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Saturday, November 23.

Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET.

TV coverage

The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.

Live stream

A live stream will be available via CBS’s digital platforms and fuboTV.

Series record

Alabama and Western Carolina have met just four times, with the Crimson Tide wining on each occasion and twice shutting out the Catamounts.

Odds

According to DraftKings, Alabama is a 57-point favorite and is 9/10 to cover the spread, while the over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 61.