Before halftime against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night at the Staples Center, Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell went down with an apparent leg or foot injury. Russell stepped on the foot of D.J. Augustin and immediately fell to the floor in pain.
The Ohio State product was helped off the floor and into the team’s locker room by teammates Tarik Black and Jordan Clarkson.
Apparently, Russell suffered an ankle sprain and will miss the rest of tonight’s game against the Nuggets, according to Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
X-Rays were negative on D'Angelo Russell's ankle. Officially a moderate sprain.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) March 26, 2016
After the game, Russell provided an update on his ankle, via Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:
Russell said he felt like his ankle “touched the ground,” that he was in considerable pain. But he’s hoping to return soon, thinks he’s OK.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 26, 2016
Russell finished with two points on 1-of-4 shooting and a rebound. The rookie guard was having somewhat of a rough night turning the ball over three times in the 12 minutes he played.
Following Friday’s game against the Nuggets, the Lakers will host the Washington Wizards on Sunday at the Staples Center. If Russell is good to go against the Wizards, he’ll have his work cut out for him trying to stay in front of fellow point guard John Wall.