Precious Achiuwa Ruled Out Indefinitely With Right Ankle Sprain, Raptors Say
Precious Achiuwa will be out indefinitely following a right ankle sprain that led to a partial tear of ligaments in his foot, the Toronto Raptors announced Thursday.
The injury occurred early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's victory over the Houston Rockets. Achiuwa fell awkwardly going up for a dunk and appeared to twist his ankle upon landing. He hobbled to the Raptors' bench following the play and needed to be helped to the locker room by team personnel.
He will wear a walking boot for the next 10 days and then be re-evaluated on a later date, the team said.
Despite a tumultuous start to the season for Achiuwa, the 23-year-old had been a key member of Toronto's bench. He'd been averaging 8.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 20.4 minutes in 12 games this season, playing primarily alongside Chris Boucher as the first two players off the bench.
Now Toronto will be forced to shuffle its rotation without Achiuwa and Pascal Siakam for the next few weeks. Achiuwa's absence will likely lead to an increased role for Thad Young and Otto Porter Jr. Both veterans played well on Wednesday and Porter should see his minutes continue to rise as he gets his feet under him after missing the first seven games of the season.
There has been no further update regarding Siakam's status since he suffered an adductor strain earlier in the month. He'll be out until at least Nov. 23, though likley longer.
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