TUSCALOOSA- The 2019 season is in jeopardy for Alabama defensive lineman LaBryan Ray. The junior from Madison’s James Clemens High suffered an injury during the South Carolina game after posting two tackles against the Gamecocks in a game the second-ranked Crimson Tide won 47-23.

“We’re doing some further testing to see what the situation is with his foot, but it’s undetermined right now as to how long he may be out,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban at a recent press conference.

Ray was evaluated for a foot/ankle injury suffered early in the game against South Carolina and underwent surgery this week. Saban stated Ray will miss at least six weeks of the season. Saban added, “I’m saying it will be six weeks before he can even start back at doing things.”

Although not knowing the exact details of the injury, a local orthopedic surgeon, who will remain anonymous, said those type of injuries take an enormous amount of time to completely heal, especially for a full-contact football player.

A similar injury curtailed his playing time as a freshman during the 2017 season. This coming after a stellar high school career for the Jets where he was listed as the No. 1 high school player in Alabama and chose Alabama over Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss and Tennessee. He suffered no foot/ankle injuries while with the James Clemens program.

The 6-foot-5, 292-pound right defensive end was a preseason third-team All-SEC selection and had seven tackles in the Tide’s first two games versus Duke and New Mexico State.