Detroit Pistons’ point guard Reggie Jackson went down with a nasty ankle injury against the Indiana Pacers last night and never returned to the game. Here’s the latest on the Pistons’ point guard.
The Detroit Pistons have been bitten with the injury bug the last couple of seasons. Last season, Reggie Jackson went down with a knee injury that for all intents and purposes ruined his season.
This season, it’s been Jon Leuer and Avery Bradley who have or will missed multiple weeks.
Now, add Reggie Jackson to the mix who came down awkwardly on his right ankle.
If you didn’t get a chance to see how Jackson came down, check out this tweet from Brad Galli:
Ankles aren't supposed to bend that way. Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson came down funky on his foot and screamed. He couldn't walk on it. pic.twitter.com/dlHNMtExel
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) December 27, 2017
Jackson had a x-ray last night to determine the next steps that need to be taken. X-rays were negative, but Jackson is not out of the woods yet.
#Pistons' SVG on Reggie Jackson's injury: The x-rays were negative. He has an ankle sprain. He'll get an MRI tomorrow and see where we are. Said he was unbelievable before he was injured.
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) December 27, 2017
When Jackson came down on his ankle in last night’s game, you could hear him scream in pain through the TV. While we do not know the exact extent of his injury just yet, the injury was clearly painful, which is important to consider when dealing with ankle injuries.
Sometimes, players can play on a sprain with minimal risk of increasing the severity of the injury, but Jackson has got to be able to tolerate the pain too.
Judging by the angle of Jackson’s foot/ankle in the above image, I am surprised that there have not been reports of swelling and bruising, though that may come out later today.
An ankle sprain is essentially damage to the ligaments connecting the ankle and foot. Visually, this appears to be a severe ankle sprain which is not only a longer recovery time from a healing perspective, but also a pain perspective. If recovery time is longer, we can also expect Jackson to have issues with proprioception which can be a lengthy rehab.
I would be surprised if Jackson was back anytime in the next two weeks, but this is admittedly a guess without being privy to the MRI results.
Worst case scenario, this injury could keep Jackson out for months, and even after he returns it could lead to a surgery in the offseason depending on how badly stretched his ligaments are.
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Let’s hope the MRI results indicate a less severe injury than what the initial injury does.