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Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball sustained a gruesome ankle injury during his side's NBA preseason game against Washington Wizards on Monday night. Reportedly, the All-Star point guard is expected to miss one or two weeks of the gaming action due to his sprained ankle.
Hornets have failed to win a single preseason game from their four previous matches and the last one they lost against Wizards 116-107. During the game, Wizards power forward Anthony Gill stepped on LaMelo's left foot when the point guard was driving towards the basket.
Watch how LaMelo Ball sustained the injury:
After the game, Hornets announced in a statement, "His (LaMelo Ball) return to full basketball activities will be determined by his response to rehab and treatment and further updates on his status will be provided as appropriate."
The ESPN has reported that LaMelo Ball is expected to stay out of the action for at least one or two weeks following his sprained ankle as the Michael Jordan's Hornets open the NBA regular season at San Antonio on October 19.
After sustaining the injury during the game, LaMelo remained on the floor for several minutes screaming in pain before limping to the foul line. After shooting two free throws, LaMelo left the court and headed to the locker room.
Hornets head coach Steve Clifford said Terry Rozier would start the regular season opener in absence of LaMelo. Clifford said , " Terry was the starting point guard on a team (2017-18 Boston Celtics ) that went to the Eastern Conference finals. It's a role he is comfortable with, and if that ends up being the situation, that is how we will do it.''
Clifford also revealed his conversation with 'disappointed' yet 'upbeat' 21-year-old point guard and said, "We talked about whatever the plan is, you have to be on the rehab. The better you are with it, the quicker you will get back. He was disappointed but very upbeat. It's just part of the NBA.''