Glenn Robinson III is expected to miss 8 weeks with his left ankle sprain, but the Indiana Pacers small forward is glad it wasn’t worse.
The Indiana Pacers announced that Glenn Robinson III is expected to miss at least 8 weeks with a left high ankle sprain he suffered on Friday.
Robinson is just thankful it wasn’t worse.
Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports talked to Robinson on Saturday at the St. Vincent Center about the nature of the injury as well the small forward’s outlook.
While a high ankle sprain isn’t anything to mess with, Robinson sounds confident he will bounce back from injury sooner than expected. The timing of the injury could have been worse as well. Robinson will miss preseason and the first month of the season. The buffer of the preseason cuts down the number of meaningful games he will miss, but also means he’ll have to get up to speed quickly upon his return.
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Robinson wasn’t expected to swing the balance of the season either direction for the Pacers, but if this is meant to be a true breakout season for him, it is now delayed by at least a month. In a season where optimism is in short supply, this is another reason for casual fans to tune out.
There are a few options for replacing Robinson but the small forward position is one of the thinner parts of the Pacers roster. Indiana must consider several options to replace him, including calling up Ben Moore or Alex Poythress from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
If the Pacers avoid calling a player up or reaching outside of the organization for help, the only other options left are in the form of extended minutes for Bojan Bogdanovic and Lance Stephenson. Considering Bogdanovic played limited minutes as a starter or came off the bench, more of Lance being Lance might be the more likely option if they keep things in-house.
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For now, let’s hope Robinson’s ankle heals quickly and he makes his return before December.