Celtics rookie Payton Pritchard will be off the court for two weeks with a sprained MCL.
The team tweeted the following update Saturday from its official account:
“#NEBHInjuryReport An MRI conducted today on guard Payton Pritchard revealed a Grade I sprain of his right MCL. Pritchard is expected to return to on-court activities in approximately two weeks.”
That qualifies as good news. Pritchard was diagnosed with a sprained knee after the game. A knee sprain covers a range of injuries of significantly varying severity and Pritchard appeared to be in considerable pain.
Brad Stevens said after Friday’s game that Pritchard would be out for “the next couple of days” and expected the rookie to undergo tests Saturday in Boston. He’ll miss at least four games this week and three next week. After that it will depend on how he responds after those two weeks.
The Celtics’ first-round pick out of Oregon had to be helped off the court after suffering that knee injury. in the first quarter two minutes after checking into the game. Jaylen Brown landed on his foot, forcing the guard’s knee to bend awkwardly. Pritchard appeared to be in significant pain as was helped off the court and went directly to the locker room.
Pritchard had surpassed veteran free-agent signee Jeff Teague as the team’s first guard off the bench. He entered the game averaging 8.3 points and 2.8 assists in 22.4 minutes.
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