Utah Jazz Guard Dante Exum Could Miss Entire Season With Shoulder Injury
The Utah Jazz may have to wait for another year to develop Dante Exum into the player they envisioned him to be.
The fourth-year guard injured his left shoulder in the first quarter of their preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday when T. J. Warren jumped over his back in a reckless attempt to block his shot. Both players got hurt on the play as they crashed to the floor, but Exum's shoulder took the brunt of the fall and he writhed in pain before he sprinted to the locker room.
The Australian guard was taken to a hospital after the game and he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to determine the extent of the damage to his shoulder. Well, it didn't look good.
It was revealed that Exum has a separated left shoulder and there was ligament damage as well, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Exum still does not have a timetable for his return. However, he's expected to miss a significant amount of time while he recovers from the injury and he might even miss the entire season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has also reported that the Jazz feared it might be a season-ending injury.
"I feel really bad for him. Dante is a guy who worked really hard in the offseason. He improved his game. He came into camp in good shape, and he looked really good. It's just unfortunate," forward Derrick Favors said, via the Salt Lake Tribune.
"This is devastating. I saw him work hard all summer, and this was a big year for him. Hopefully, Dante can keep his head up, come back and be better," center Rudy Gobert stated.
Exum has already missed the entire 2015–16 season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee. Now he might have to sit on the sidelines for another season because of a serious shoulder injury.
