INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal is done for the season. Kawhi Leonard has an ankle and a foot sprain with no timetable to return.
Beal has a hip fracture and will undergo surgery next week, the team announced Wednesday. He is expected to make a full recovery in six to nine months.
“This is a very, very fluky injury,” Lawrence Frank, president of basketball operations, said. “The surgeon said it’s almost like the equivalent
of if you were in like a car accident. It’s an atypical kind of basketball injury. It’s more of an acute trauma-type injury.”
Leonard missed his fifth game of the season with a sprained right ankle Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets.
“It wasn't just an ankle sprain,” Frank said when asked for an update on Leonard. “He also had a significant sprain in his foot as well. He's making really good progress.”
Leonard is receiving treatment multiple times daily and will accompany the team on its upcoming seven-game trip starting Friday at Dallas.
Beal got hurt last Saturday in the second quarter against Phoenix, his former team, at Intuit Dome. He had an MRI the next day and then a CT scan confirmed the fracture.
“He feels like he’s let us down by being hurt. He feels horrible he’s not there for his teammates,” Frank said. “He was hoping to have a really, really good year.”
The three-time All-Star played in just six games this season, averaging 8.2 points and 1.7 assists. He signed an $11 million, two-year deal with the Clippers in July after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Suns.
The 32-year-old had already missed games because of a left knee injury that pre-dated his tenure with the Clippers, as well as lower back soreness. He was on a minutes restriction while trying to lower inflammation in his knee, Frank said.
“It’s tough for our guys to hear about this,” coach Tyronn Lue said, “especially from a guy that’s a great guy and tried everything he could to get back on the floor.”
Beal's two seasons in Phoenix were riddled by injury. The 14-year veteran hasn't played at least 60 games in a season since 2020-21 when he was with the Washington Wizards.
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