Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving day-to-day with facial fracture
Wednesday 25 September 2019 23:12, UK
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving suffered a fracture when he took an accidental elbow to the left side of his face during a pickup game and is listed as day-to-day, the team said Wednesday.
The incident occurred Tuesday at team facilities, and Irving was taken to the hospital as a precaution, general manager Sean Marks said later that day.
"I think this is a case of us being cautious with all our guys. A stray, inadvertent elbow playing pickup games - yes, I did see it - those type of plays happen frequently in the same game," Marks told reporters on Tuesday.
"This is just a case where he caught the elbow, and now we're going to do our due diligence."
Irving, 27, is entering his first season with the Nets after signing a four-year, $136.5m contract. The Nets are counting on him to lead the team until fellow free-agent signee Kevin Durant returns from surgery for a torn Achilles.
This is the latest facial injury for Irving, who broke a bone in his jaw in 2012 when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Early in the 2017 season as a member of the Boston Celtics, he also sustained a broken facial bone when a team-mate inadvertently elbowed him.
A two-time All-NBA selection and six-time All-Star, Irving averaged 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 67 games with the Celtics last season.
