Trae Young suffered lateral ankle sprain in loss to Knicks, expected to return shortly for Hawks
Despite a painful and scary exit from their game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young only suffered a lateral ankle sprain, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday afternoon.
Young will reportedly be able to return to the court once swelling and discomfort are gone.
An MRI revealed a Grade 2 lateral sprain on Atlanta All-Star guard Trae Young's left ankle, source tells ESPN. He's expected to be able to return to play once swelling and discomfort are gone. Best possible news after Wednesday night's injury at MSG.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 22, 2021
Young helped off court with ankle injury
Young went down late in the third quarter of the Hawks’ 137-127 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night after shooting a bucket in the lane. He landed directly on his left ankle, which buckled and sent him collapsing to the court in clear agony.
Atlanta Hawks Star Trae Young is down and hurting. pic.twitter.com/5Dbl0midyr
— BenchWarmerPost🏀 (@BenchWarmerPost) April 22, 2021
He eventually was helped off the court and ruled out for the rest of the game. An X-Ray taken after the contest was negative. He finished the game with 20 points and 14 assists. He’s averaging 25.4 points, 9.5 assists and four rebounds per game so far this season.
The Knicks, after trailing by eight when Young left, mounted a huge 15-0 run to force overtime and eventually secure the 10-point win — their eighth straight.
The Hawks are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and are vying for their first postseason appearance since 2017. As Young's injury is not as severe as it looked, it sounds like he should be back in plenty of time for the playoffs.
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