Alabama DL LaBryan Ray

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban provided another injury update Sunday, this time on a freshman defender that missed the last two games with a foot injury.

True freshman defensive end LaBryan Ray suffered a broken bone in his foot prior to the Crimson Tide's home finale against Mercer, but during a teleconference for the Allstate Sugar Bowl semifinal, Saban suggested Ray could return to the field after the holidays.

"He probably won't be able to practice right off the bat," Saban said. "We tentatively haven't set a schedule for bowl practice yet, but I think we're going to probably start somewhere around Dec. 15. But he may be ready to contribute after Christmas, but that'll be something that we'll have to sort of go day-to-day on."

The former 5-star recruit appeared in six of the Tide’s 10 games this year as a reserve along the defensive front. Ray registered five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.

Ray saw his first game action against Ole Miss when he provided defensive line depth in place of injured senior Da'Shawn Hand, who luckily for Alabama, has returned to the field.

A native of Madison, Ala., Ray was the No. 15 overall player and No. 1 player in the state of Alabama during the 2017 recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite.

On Sunday, Saban also announced senior safety Hootie Jones will be out with a knee injury, but "the rest of our team will be relatively healthy for this game" against Clemson.

Alabama and Clemson will face off on Monday, Jan. 1, at 7:45 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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