Minkah Fitzpatrick: Kidney Injury Won't Affect National Championship Game Status

Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said he'll be available for Monday night's national championship game against Georgia despite suffering a kidney injury during the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Clemson.

On Saturday, Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com passed along comments from Fitzpatrick, who said he's got "two healthy kidneys." The defender noted he was disappointed about the release of personal information.

"Someone tweeted something they weren't supposed to tweet," he said. "There are laws against it. It's not funny when it's something regarding my health."

The 21-year-old safety tallied three total tackles and one pass defended in Bama's 24-6 win over the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.

Chris Renkel of WIAT CBS 42 reported Friday the two-time All-American suffered a bruised kidney in the contest.

In all, Fitzpatrick has racked up 55 tackles, seven passes defended, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble across 12 games during his junior campaign with the Tide.

He's a potential top-five selection in the 2018 NFL draft if he skips his senior year, but he said last month that decision wouldn't be announced until after the season.

"I'm not making any comments about that," he told reporters. "I'm worried about winning the national championship."

Fitzpatrick and his Alabama teammates will do exactly that Monday night, when they battle the SEC rival Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.