Charlotte Hornets president Mitch Kupchak on Friday left the door open for rookie LaMelo Ball to return to play this season following surgery to address a fracture in his right wrist.
Of course, Ball suffered the injury on March 20 after taking a hard fall to the court versus the Los Angeles Clippers. He was able to remain in the game following the injury but would eventually leave again in the second half and not return after getting his wrist taped up.
Ball was initially expected to miss the rest of the season following the injury, but further evaluation showed that may not be the case. On Tuesday, the Hornets announced that Ball would be re-evaluated in four weeks following the surgery.
Kupchak revealed the timeline of the diagnosis given to Ball, via Nick Carboni of WCNC-TV in Charlotte.
Kupchak says possibility of five weeks in the cast, and then there's still a rehab process after that to regain flexibility, and of course evaluate where the team stands when Ball *might* be ready to return
Kupchak: "It doesn't preclude him from coming back this season."
— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) March 26, 2021
The Hornets’ regular season wraps up May 16 so it is possible Ball can play again but the organization will certainly be cautious with his return to the court. He emerged as perhaps the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award and a key member of the rotation.
Ball, through 41 games played, is averaging 15.9 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals with the Hornets. The team had just recently moved him into the starting lineup prior to the injury on a full-time basis given his strong start to the season.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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