Kyle Anderson Injury Update: Sprained MCL Keeps Player Out for Up To Three Weeks
Kyle Anderson's knee sprain will keep him from joining his team possibly for the next three weeks.
During Sunday night's game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 6-foot-9 small forward badly hurt his left knee in the third quarter. He then left the court on a limb and with the assistance of his teammates Manu Ginobili and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Anderson was unable to return. Despite the short-handed bench, the Spurs were able to prevent their opponent from having a commanding lead. But, in the end, the Oklahoma City Thunders won the game, 90-87.
The following day, Anderson underwent an MRI procedure which confirmed that he had been suffering from a sprained medial collateral ligament injury, that would keep him from playing for about two to three weeks, according to ESPN's sources.
Anderson's injury left the Spurs even more undermanned since their key player Kawhi Leonard is yet to fully recover from his own injury and make a comeback for season 2017-18.
Veteran coach Gregg Popovich said: "It looked really ugly. I think it'll probably be maybe two weeks, something like that, and he'll be back with us."
"Somebody else will have to fill in, just like they did for Tony [Parker] and Kawhi [Leonard]. Everybody gets injuries. You've just got to deal with it," he added.
It is going to be a tough two to three weeks for the Spurs considering that Anderson is filling in for Leonard's absence in the court.
Meanwhile, Popovich shared what he thinks of Anderson's work in the season before the injury and calls his time filling for Leonard's shoes "a good opportunity." The Spurs head coach even commented that Anderson is a "not ... a typical NBA athlete."
Popovich further said Anderson shows "high basketball IQ" during the games and the coach plans to keep him in the gameplay rotation even when Leonard is back.
