Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has reportedly been ruled out of action indefinitely after aggravating his right shoulder injury, an issue that has already caused him to miss 26 games this season. According to ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Irving is scheduled to see a specialist this week and the team will determine the next steps from there.
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The New York Times’ Marc Stein reports that Irving’s issue is “best described as a deterioration in the shoulder” and something that could require surgery. When asked about the possibility of Irving missing the rest of the season, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters, “I don’t want to go there.”
The 27-year old guard is averaging a career-high 27.4 points per game to go along with 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds, but he has only appeared in 20 games thus far. He last played on February 1st in a loss to the Washington Wizards and was later sidelined due to a lingering knee injury. The Nets are already without superstar forward , who is expected to miss the entire season as he recovers from a torn achilles.
Brooklyn has played well without Irving and Durant in the lineup, but they’re just 25-28 for the season (7th in the East) as they prepare to visit the Philadelphia 76ers coming out of the All Star break. Check out some of the reactions to Kyrie’s latest injury below.