Getty Russell Westbrook
Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook suffered a scary leg injury Monday against the New Orleans Pelicans. While the aftermath of the fall resulted in the star point guard grabbing his leg while writhing in pain, the injury may not be as bad as originally thought. As The Athletic’s Brett Dawson revealed, the Thunder are calling it a left ankle sprain.
Per the Thunder, left ankle sprain for Russell Westbrook. No further update yet.
That’s not all, though, as we also received positive news from former NFL doctor David J. Chao who believes Westbrook will miss less time than most think.
If you didn’t see the original play from the first angle, here’s a look at the video, courtesy of Justin Phan from Fantasy Labs. There’s also an extended look provided of Westbrook trying to get back to the locker room after the injury, per Bleacher Report.
Russ limps off the floor after suffering an ankle injury
Based on the updates provided, it seems the injury may not be as bad as expected, which would be great news for Westbrook and the Thunder. After first watching the video it was tough to watch and the guard’s reaction was enough to make you think the worst for a variety of reasons.
Update
ESPN’s Royce Young also confirmed that Westbrook did undergo X-rays on his left ankle and they were negative.
Westbrook had X-rays on his left ankle and they were negative.
There’s unlikely to be much additional information provided on this until tomorrow or the next day, but everything from post-injury is positive to this point. While Westbrook may not miss an extended period of time, assuming it is an ankle sprain, he may be sidelined for at least a bit based on how bad the sprain looked above. Fans can at least feel somewhat better due to the fact that it doesn’t seem to be more than a sprain.
Through the first six games of the season, Westbrook has averaged 25.3 points, 8.8 assists, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game (not including Monday’s game).
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