Indiana Pacers Forward Glenn Robinson III Out for Two Months After Suffering an Ankle Injury
With Paul George and C. J. Miles gone, Indiana Pacers wing Glenn Robinson III was supposed to see a significant uptick in minutes this season as Bojan Bogdanović's primary backup at small forward. Unfortunately, the fourth-year pro will now have to sit out the first two months of the season due to an ankle injury.
Robinson sustained the injury during practice last Friday when he landed awkwardly on his left leg after driving to the basket, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. He was diagnosed with a severely sprained left ankle and he will have to wait until December to make his regular season debut.
"You could tell (by) the look on everybody's faces. Everybody thought it was way worse. ... It was ugly. I was just hoping and praying it wasn't an ACL (tear)," Robinson said, via the Indianapolis Star. "I'm young. Hopefully I can heal a little faster," he continued.
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"Me being a focal point on this team this year, these guys understand that. They got my back. We got each other's backs. It was good to see," he added.
The high-flying forward actually got lucky there because an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear would have forced him to miss the entire season.
The University of Michigan standout hasn't been able to replicate his father's success in the National Basketball Association (NBA) thus far, but he has become a key rotational piece for the Pacers last season.
In 69 games (27 starts) last season, Robinson averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game. He also shot 46.7 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Rookie forward T.J. Leaf will reportedly see some playing time at small forward while Robinson recuperates. Lance Stephenson, Alex Poythress and Damien Wilkins should see some minutes at the position as well.
