Justin Eboigbe reveals the best advice he received after season-ending injury in 2022

Alabama DL Justin Eboigbe has been anxiously awaiting his return to the football field after suffering a season-ending injury in 2022.

While going through rehab, the severity of the injury plus the recovery time (six months) seemed like it was going to be an eternity before he could get back to full strength. Doctors preached patience toward Eboigbe, who listened to their advice and is on track to play in Alabama’s season-opener in September.

“The best advice I got was from [Alabama associate AD of Sports Medicine] Jeff Allen, he said, ‘It’s season-ending, not career-ending,'” Eboigbe revealed. “The worst thing that can happen is you getting in your own head and thinking, ‘is this it for me?’ I stayed behind the words that he told me and [it made me realize] that my season might be over, but my career is not over.

“Every day I woke up, there were tough days and stuff like that, but knowing that the game of football is not going to be taken from me forever and knowing that it’s just a small setback. I knew that every time I worked, every time it was time to do something, I knew I was going to come back.”

Eboigbe missed most of the 2022 season after suffering a neck injury and there has been no rush to get him back onto the field. He posted on social media earlier this month saying that he had “great news,” which seems to indicate he will be making an official return sooner rather than later.

It has been a complete effort by the Crimson Tide staff trying to get Eboigbe ready for his senior season. Alongside Allen in the sports medicine department, Alabama strength and coniditoning coach UJ Johnson was the man tasked with getting Eboigbe back to full strength in the weight room.

“I feel like part of the reason why I am where I am at this stage and why I feel so healthy and so strong right now is because of him,” Eboigbe said. Even after his rehab, Eboigbe still utliizes Johnson’s training plan into his daily workout routine.

On top of that, being sidelined for such an extended period of time made Eboigbe start seeing football from a different perspective. As a veteran in the locker room, he used his voice to help his team instead of his body. Eboigbe said all the Alabama DLs are brothers, and coaching his teammates from the sidelines was all he could do to help at the time and they accepted his constructive criticism with open ears.

Now back on the practice field, Eboigbe is expected to be ready to suit up for the Crimson Tide’s season opener on Sept. 2 against Middle Tennessee State barring any setbacks.