Grant Nelson injury update: Alabama HC Nate Oats gives pessimistic status for forward’s availability

Alabama suffered a setback when senior forward Grant Nelson left the court in the first half of Saturday’s Southeastern Conference Tournament game against Florida due to a knee injury.

Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats provided an update on Nelson’s injury on Monday during his appearance on the "Hey Coach" radio show. While Oats labeled his status for the first-round game as "questionable," he mentioned that Nelson avoided a more serious issue.

“We need to get him healthy,” Oats said. “Not sure he’ll be ready by Friday. We’re hoping, at a minimum, he’d be ready by Sunday with the possibility of Friday. We dodged one. It wasn’t anything too serious with his knee but will for sure be questionable for that first game on Friday.”

Alabama (25-8, 13-5 SEC), the No. 2 seed in the East Region, will face No. 15 seed Robert Morris (26-8, 15-5 Horizon) on Friday at 12:40 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

If Nelson is unable to play, the Tide will likely have to rely heavily on Mark Sears and other contributors to carry the load.

“I mean, like Mark's been really good for us, but you know, what he's capable of throughout a lot of different games this year and you see what he capable of turning into a tournament last year," Oats said. "We know how good he can be and you know, kind of those two are, you know, Mark's our best offensive player. Cliff needs to be anchoring the defense. So, we need the two of them both to be at an elite level for us going through this tournament.”

Grant Nelson’s impact on Alabama this season

Grant Nelson has been a key player for Alabama this campaign. He leads the team in rebounds and blocks per game while ranking second in scoring behind all-American guard Mark Sears.

Losing Nelson for any part of the NCAA Tournament would be a big blow to the Tide's chances of making a deep run.

Here’s a look at Nelson’s averages for the season:

Points: 11.8

Rebounds: 7.6

Assists: 4.0

Blocks: 1.2

Shooting: 52.8%

3-point shooting: 27.4%

Alabama is aiming to build on last season’s success after making it to the Final Four for the first time in program history.