The Houston Rockets are worried that star center Christian Wood could be out for a long time after injuring his right ankle for the second time in less than three weeks, sources told ESPN.
Wood will have an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of the injury he suffered when his ankle rolled horribly during the third quarter of Thursday’s 115-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, according to a source.
“I don’t know,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said of the severity of the injury. “It didn’t look fantastic. It was unfortunate.”
Wood, who has become an All-Star contender averaging 22.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in his first season with the Rockets, lost three games after tearing himself apart the right ankle on January 20th.
Wood injured his ankle again as he drove down the transition lane against the Grizzlies. He landed awkwardly as he split Memphis defenders Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant, who immediately fell into agony.
After getting back on his feet, Wood slowly limped off the ground for the next timeout. He returned to the court to try Morant’s free kicks from a foul, but John Wall and other teammates convinced Wood to leave the game. He limped off the ground with the help of teammates and was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair.
“It was hard for me,” Silas said. “I had enjoyed sitting down, picking up my thoughts and meeting myself. As good as I’ve been playing, I mean, really like a break-up season and doing everything we needed him to do … Yeah, it’s a shit “.