a pic might be worth a millions questions ...

the roots should be fine.. and the plant ought to resprout ...

the link seems to make the point that location matters ... winter vs spring ... where are you???

you have nothing to lose.. to try to root a piece that is broken off .... we have all done it .... sometimes we win.. sometimes we dont ...

btw.. how large is the broken piece .... large pieces might not root before it dries too much ....

ken

http://www.gardena.com/int/garden-life/garden-magazine/how-to-cut-and-multiply-sage/

Can you tell us what this plant is exactly? Is it just culinary sage? I'm a bit confused by the term 'sapling'. If it's just ordinary sage it should be ok unless you have snapped it off completely and left no branches at all.