Alabama's quarterback competition shouldn't have to be put on hold for too long.

The hand injury Tua Tagovailoa suffered Tuesday is believed to just be a sprain and he should be able to return to practice in at least a limited capacity at some point soon, sources told AL.com.

The sophomore suffered the injury when his hand hit off an offensive lineman while he made a pass during the Crimson Tide's first spring practice on Tuesday.

Without getting into specifics about the injury or recovery timetable, Nick Saban said Tuesday night that Tagovailoa had suffered a thumb injury but expressed optimism that Tagovailoa would be able to get back to being able to do "some things" in "a few days."

Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts were splitting reps with the first-team at quarterback prior to the injury, according to Saban.

"We're giving both guys an opportunity to see how they compete and how they do," Saban said. "We don't have any decisions, aren't speculating on any decisions. Just going to be fair and honest on how we give each player a chance to compete."

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.