Ricky Rubio Out 7-to-8 Weeks with Severe Ankle Sprain
The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a major setback on Friday, November 7 when franchise point guard Ricky Rubio went down with a left ankle injury. The ailment was later confirmed to be a sprain, but the severity was unclear.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN, the Timberwolves’ fears have been confirmed.
Wolves coach Flip Saunders feared a significant sprain last night after injury happened and MRI today on Ricky Rubio confirmed those fears
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 8, 2014
Rubio will miss an undisclosed amount of time.
Wolves announce that Ricky Rubio has suffered a "significant" left ankle sprain and will be out indefinitely
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) November 8, 2014
Per Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports, Rubio could miss 7-to-8 weeks.
While Timberwolves announced G Ricky Rubio is out indefinitely with a significantly sprained left ankle, I'm told he could miss 7-8 weeks.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) November 8, 2014
This is a major setback.
Rubio recently signed a four-year contract extension worth $55 million. It was a leap of faith on Rubio, whose world-class production has been dragged down by poor shooting and a previously torn ACL.
After playing all 82 games in 2013-14, however, Minnesota believed Rubio’s health issues were behind him.
This is an unfortunate setback for both the 24-year-old Rubio and the Timberwolves as a team. Rubio helped Minnesota achieve its first 40-win season since 2005 and is one of the league’s premier distributers and ball-hawks.
Minnesota has a cast of young and promising talent in the likes of Anthony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine and Andrew Wiggins. There are also productive veterans such as Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young.
Rubio was the two-way floor general who was supposed to bring it all together. For now, those duties shift elsewhere.
Rubio missed 41 games in 2011-12 due to a torn ACL in the midst of a season in which he was a favorite for Rookie of the Year. He spent an additional 25 on the sideline in 2012-13 while recovering from surgery.
Rubio has played in 139 consecutive games, but in 2014-15, that streak will come to an abrupt end.
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