Thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo was taken off the court on a stretcher on Wednesday night after suffering a scary fall, but he appears to have avoided a major injury (link via ESPN’s Royce Young). The Thunder announced this afternoon that Diallo sustained a left ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days (Twitter link via Brett Dawson of The Athletic).
Diallo, who has played regular minutes off the bench for Oklahoma City during his first NBA season, landed awkwardly after going up for a defensive rebound during the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win over Golden State.
There was initially a fear that Diallo’s injury was severe – possibly a broken leg – but X-rays performed at the arena were negative, per Young. The 20-year-old had a boot on his left foot after the game and was using crutches, but was in good spirits after having avoided a major injury.
Although Diallo’s injury could have been worse, the Thunder may still find themselves short-handed on the wing when they resume play after today’s Thanksgiving holiday. With Diallo and Andre Roberson sidelined, Oklahoma City will have to see if Alex Abrines and Terrance Ferguson are ready to go. Abrines has misses the club’s last three games with an illness, and Ferguson suffered a left ankle sprain of his own during the first quarter of Wednesday’s contest.
That injury looked absolutely gruesome. Hopefully it really is just a sprain.