Nate Oats says there's 'concern' about Latrell Wrightsell's achilles

Alabama basketball's two point loss to Oregon in the Players Era Festival Championsip was far from the worst news for the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Graduate senior guard Latrell Wrightsell went down early in the second half with a non-contact lower leg injury.

Wrighsell had to be helped off the floor and couldn't put any weight on his injured leg. He was listed as doubtful to return per the broadcast. Down the stretch of the game, Wrightsell was on the bench with a boot on his foot as he watched the final few minutes of action.

Immediately the first thing that came to mind when Wrightsell went down was an achilles tear. He went down without contact and he didn't appear to turn his ankle. He immediately grabbed the back of his foot area too, which is an obvious sign.

After the game, Nate Oats all but confirmed what is likely to be devastating news for the Crimson Tide:

The MRI is likely to confirm the devastating injury. Typically, an achilles tear is an easy thing to diagnose by an athletic trainer. Them being "concerned" about it is not a good sign.

Alabama was on the verge of getting back to full strength with the expected return of USF transfer Chris Youngblood. Youngblood is expected to return sometime in December. Instead of an added boost to an already stacked rotation, he'll fill the void left by Wrightsell.

Until Youngblood is ready, Alabama will have to run a nine-man rotation unless Oats considers burning Houston Mallette's redshirt. I don't expect that to happen unless Youngblood suffers a setback or there's another injury at some point.

Wrightsell's injury is a big loss for the Crimson Tide. He's an important player and Alabama's most consistent shooter with the struggles of Mark Sears.

Mostly, though, you just feel bad for Wrightsell if the injury is as bad as it seems it's going to be. He deserved the opportunity to finish his career on his own terms.