Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone believes rookie Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland will be fine following an ankle injury suffered on Monday in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Hyland appeared to twist his left ankle at the end of the first quarter. He left the game and went back to the locker room to receive treatment and would eventually return to play in the second half. He tweaked it once again in the fourth quarter and was seen grimacing in pain on the bench.
Malone said afterward that Hyland should be OK following the injury.
He rolled that ankle. I think he is going to be fine. Luckily, he is young — really resilient, a tough kid. Hopefully, (it’ll be) a couple of days. Once we get home, try to get Will back, try to get Zeke back and try to get all of these other guys that have been playing a lot of minutes some rest.
Hyland finished the contest with two points and one rebound in 11 minutes of work off the bench. He had emerged recently as a key contributor in the second unit, averaging 15 points, four rebounds and 3.7 assists over his last three games entering play on Monday.
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The team has dealt with several injuries recently with Michael Porter Jr. (back), Will Barton (back) and Zeke Nnaji (ankle) out versus the Mavericks. Of course, those injuries are in addition to Jamal Murray, who will likely miss most of the season with a torn ACL.
Given the situation, the Nuggets will certainly be hoping the injury to Hyland is not severe, as Malone speculated. The Nuggets play next on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers so Hyland will have the opportunity to rest for a couple of days to get his ankle ready to go.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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