Of all of the injuries suffered or aggravated in Saturday's 25-17 loss at Alabama, the University of Hawai'i coaches are most concerned about the ones to inside linebacker Solomon Elimimian and running back Nate Ilaoa.

Elimimian said he suffered a sprained right knee.

By definition, all sprains involve some degree of tearing or stretching of a ligament. Elimimian was checked by the team physician, who diagnosed the injury as "grade 1," the mildest in the three-grade scale.

"I have to take it easy," Elimimian said. "We have a bye this week. That'll be good. I'll be ready to go by the next game (against Nevada-Las Vegas)."

He said he suffered the injury when he was struck while fighting off a block.

"I'm blessed," he said. "It could have been worse. Right when I was hit, I fell. If I stayed up, I might have hurt it worse."

He continued playing after that.

"It hurt, but while I was playing it was bearable," he said. "Once I stopped, that's when the pain got to me. It stiffened up. I had to fight through it."

Ilaoa did not play in the second half after suffering a concussion. Teammates said Ilaoa was throwing up in the locker room at halftime.

"He'll be OK, but it scares you when he got smacked," said Mouse Davis, who coaches the running backs. "It was one of those helmet (to-helmet) shots. That kind of dings you up."

Ilaoa was monitored during yesterday's two-hour bus ride from Birmingham to Atlanta, and the nine-hour flight from Atlanta to Honolulu.

"They don't like him to sleep too long," Davis said. "He gets some rest, and he gets awakened."

Free safety Leonard Peters suffered a "rib injury," according to UH coach June Jones, but will not miss any games because of the condition.

Starting right outside linebacker C.J. Allen-Jones (pulled left hamstring) and running back Reagan Mauia (two sprained thumbs, sprained shoulder ligament) also should not miss time.

Nose tackle Michael Lafaele aggravated a sore left heel, and played sparingly.

"Those things are slow to heal," said Jeff Reinebold, who coaches the defensive linemen. "They're constantly being aggravated. He has to be serious in taking his treatment and wearing his (medical) boot (when not playing). Those injuries are tough on big guys. Mike's a tough guy, but he needs to take care of his tires. He has to be proactive in getting better. It's not going to heal by itself."

In Lafaele's absence, the Warriors played five others at nose tackle. Renolds Fruean, who is 6 feet 4, was used mostly in passing situations.

"We wanted a taller guy to get a hand in the quarterback's face," Reinebold said.

Kahai LaCount, Lawrence Wilson, Keala Watson and Fale Laeli took turns in running situations.

"The (Alabama) center must have wondered what was going on," Reinebold said.

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said he called in the reserves at outside linebacker when Allen-Jones and Tyson Kafentzis were unable to play. Allen-Jones has struggled with a hamstring injury the past two weeks. Glanville said Kafentzis' "calves tied up. It was probably from dehydration."

NO REST FOR COACHES

Because of the tight travel schedule and limited editing equipment, the coaches did not receive cut-ups — videos of the game broken down by situations — until 10:30 last night.

For home games, the coaches usually receive the cut-ups the morning after the game.

"I guess I'll go and take a snooze," Glanville said when told of the delay.

The coaches watch the cut-ups and videos of an entire game several times. They use the videos to grade the players. On Mondays, the players watch the videos.

Glanville said his usual practice is to "not go to bed until I have it done. I guess I'll be staying up."

The Warriors will go through conditioning drills today, then practice tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday. They will have weight training on Friday. Because of the bye, there are no practices scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

The coaches, meanwhile, will not take any breaks, not even today.

"Labor means work, so that's what we'll be doing," Reinebold said.

NO CONSOLATION FOR UH

Jones said he was pleased the Warriors were in contention against Alabama despite a disadvantage in turnovers (three to Alabama's zero) and penalties (11 to five).

But Jones said: "We went down there to win. There's no consolation in losing."

Noting that his players were angered by the outcome, Jones said, "That's the way it should be. Had we won, it would have made a big statement. But we didn't, and I don't take any solace in that. A loss is a loss."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.