Landon Buford
With 6:04 left in the second quarter of game four of the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets game. Kyrie Irving went down with a right ankle sprain and will not return, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.
Neither Nichols nor Charania reported a specific degree. So, with that being said, Kyrie Irving could be out between a week to six weeks, depending on the degree. I reached out to former Lakers trainer Marco Nunez to discuss Irving’s injury.
“It depends on the degree of the sprain and the ligaments affected/damaged. If a typical lateral ankle sprain (no other structures affected) 1st degree: 7 – 14 days 2nd degree: 2 – 4 weeks 3 degree: 4 – 8 weeks,” said Nunez.
“Also, keep in mind that most professional players have had an ankle sprain, so a very mild ankle sprain, a professional basketball player can potentially return as early as 3-5 days.”
After the game Dr. Chan tweeted that Irving appears to have a grade 2 inversion ankle sprain.
“#KyrieIrving’s injury appears: Grade 2 right inversion ankle sprain. Structures probably involved: anterior talofibular, calcaneofibular, & posterior talofibular, in that order. Most likely no fractures if he was able to walk, probably out for this & next series #nets @BrooklynNets.”
The severity or grade of the injury can only be confirmed from an MRI & hands-on examination.
Kyrie Irving left the game with 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 17 minutes of play.
