Hawks forward Pero Antic out 2-4 weeks with stress fracture in ankle

Hawks rookie forward Pero Antic had been taking on a large role for Atlanta. (Mike Lawrie/Getty) The Atlanta Hawks suffered another blow to an already

Hawks rookie forward Pero Antic had been taking on a large role for Atlanta. (Mike Lawrie/Getty)

The Atlanta Hawks suffered another blow to an already injury-depleted front line Thursday. The team announced that rookie forward Pero Antic will miss two to four weeks after X-rays revealed he has a stress fracture in his right ankle.

Antic has seen a dramatic minutes increase since All-Star forward Al Horford went down for the year with a torn pectoral muscle on December 26.

In eight January games, Antic was playing 24.6 minutes per game, more than double the 11.2 he averaged in December. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in January and was especially deadly from deep, shooting 43.2% on attempts from behind the three-point line.

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The Hawks said Antic will wear a protective walking boot.

Hawks injury updates: Pero Antic out 2-4 weeks with stress fracture in right ankle, DeMarre Carroll day-to-day: http://t.co/KDOCuSnb5k

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) January 23, 2014