Monday 29 October 2018 23:09, UK
Boston Celtics center Daniel Theis has been ruled out indefinitely after suffering a tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot.
If Theis, who also has been dealing with heel problems, does not require surgery, he could be out for six to eight weeks.
The German missed the final three months of his first NBA season because of knee surgery earlier this year.
Head coach Brad Stevens remains hopeful that Theis will not be out for an extended period of time like he was last season, when he averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 63 games.
"The indefinite timeline sounds worse than the timeline we've been given," Stevens told reporters on Monday.
"It's not going to be season derailing or anything like that. We'll see how he progresses over the next few weeks and then the next steps will be determined, but they think it'll be a pretty quick recovery, which is fortunate."
After he was signed by the Celtics last summer from the German top-tier basketball league, Theis showed promise as a solid contributor off the bench, and has averaged 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.2 minutes in his first five games of the season.
The 26-year-old German scored a season-high 17 points (making 7 of 9 field goals) with eight rebounds while playing 19 minutes in Saturday's 109-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
