Chris Duarte left the Indiana Pacers‘ 119-103 loss on the road to the Orlando Magic early on Monday after aggravating a left big toe injury in the third quarter.
Duarte appeared to experience some discomfort after fouling Magic guard Cole Anthony midway through the period. He checked out of the game and went back to the locker room and was eventually ruled out of returning by the team.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is hopeful Duarte can play on Wednesday.
His toe is sore so we’ll hope that in the next day and a half that he can get it feeling better. Sometimes, you get kicked and it hurts a lot and it calms down but I don’t know what is going to happen with that. I did tell him get with the trainers, get treatment and try to get ready for Wednesday and, if not, it’ll be Friday.
Duarte previously missed three games with the injury but returned to play on Sunday in a win over the Boston Celtics. He recorded 11 points and four rebounds in that victory and finished with seven points and four rebounds in 14 minutes versus the Magic.
He has emerged as one of the top first-year players, averaging 13.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He was selected to compete in the NBA Rising Stars game but missed it due to the toe injury. He was the ninth player in team history to be selected for the showcase game.
The Pacers will face the Magic again in Orlando on Wednesday as the team is hopeful Duarte can suit up in that contest. They continue a four-game road trip on Friday in Detroit before wrapping it up on Sunday with the Washington Wizards.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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