Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to be out for about four to six weeks with a calf injury. The setback compounds a difficult stretch for both player and franchise.
Antetokounmpo played 32 minutes in a narrow 102-100 defeat by the Denver Nuggets. He left in the final minute after clearly struggling with discomfort.
“Probably the next steps will be, go to [an] MRI tomorrow,” said the 31-year-old. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
“After the MRI, they’ll tell me, probably, I popped something in my calf, in my soleus, something,” the player said.
“They’ll probably give me a protocol of four to six weeks that I’ll be out.””This is from my experience being around the NBA,” he added.
The forward sounded resigned but determined. “After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back. That will probably be the end of February, beginning of March,” he also said.
The injury first occurred in the opening quarter of the contest.Antetokounmpo exited briefly before returning to log 32 total minutes.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers defended the call to keep him involved. He stressed medical clearance was repeatedly confirmed.
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Injury follows criticism as Milwaukee Bucks slide further
“I asked our [medical] team five different times,” Rivers explained.
“I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally.”
“Giannis was defiant about staying in,” Rivers added.
The two-time MVP has recently criticised his team-mates publicly. Those comments followed a slump in form and cohesion. The Nuggets defeat marked a fifth loss in six games. As a result, the Bucks sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re not playing hard, we’re not doing the right thing,” said Antetokounmpo previously. “We’re not playing to win, we’re not playing together. Our chemistry is not there, guys are being selfish,” he continued.
“Rather try to look for their own shots than the right shot.”
Meanwhile, the Bucks’ regular season ends on 12 April.
Tags: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Doc Rivers, NBA, Denver Nuggets, calf injury.
