Miami Heat Roster, Injury News 2017: Hassan Whiteside Sidelined With a Left Knee Bone Bruise
The Miami Heat will have to make do without their defensive anchor for the next week or two.
The team has announced that center Hassan Whiteside has a bone bruise on his left knee and he's expected to be sidelined for one to two weeks as he goes through a strength and conditioning program.
Whiteside initially injured his knee in their season-opening game against the Orlando Magic. He would return to the lineup after missing the next five games, but it was clear that the knee issues were slowing him down.
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A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on Thursday confirmed that the bone bruise Whiteside sustained on Oct. 18 still hasn't healed, and it also revealed a second bone bruise on the same knee.
Now it seems the timeline for his return may be extended because the Heat center doesn't want to return to the court unless he's fully healthy.
"I don't want to come back and be a watered down Hassan and people looking at me crazy like what's wrong with Hassan?" Why isn't he playing at this level or whatever? I don't want to even risk that,'" Whiteside said, via the Miami Herald.
"I knew I wasn't feeling like myself and it was really bothering me and I felt slower than I normally have. I will miss a little bit of time. Maybe trying to play through it could have had an effect on it," he added.
In 15 games this season, Whiteside is averaging 14.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals while playing in just under 27 minutes a game. He is also shooting 58.1 percent from the field and 69.2 percent from the free throw line.
Whiteside was the National Basketball Association's (NBA) top rebounder last season and he was named to the All-Defensive second team in 2016.
