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The Portland Trail Blazers starting power forward, Zach Collins, is set to miss the remainder of the season following a diagnosis of a stress fracture to the malleolar bone of his ankle. Jason Quick of the Athletic talked with Collins regarding his feelings about the injury, given that it follows on missing most of the season due to a dislocated shoulder.
“I was pretty down, really sad about it,” Collins said. “Because I felt like I was going into a good place going into the playoffs as far as my game, and where I was mentally. I was feeling good, and to have that setback, and now I can’t go out there and help my team compete for a championship, like, that sh— hurts.”
Quick outlines the diagnostic process the team used to determine Collins’ fracture: an MRI showed two bone spurs, initially, so Collins kept playing. However, an additional MRI displayed a stress reaction in his ankle. The team went ahead and ordered a CT scan, which revealed the fracture.
“It showed a small fracture, a crack, where it had been hurting,” Collins said. “Then, decisions were made.”
Collins said a surgery date has not been scheduled yet because he needs to wait for the cortisone shot to be flushed from his body. He said he will remain with the team until the surgery is set.
“I was talking to the trainers and they said it’s a pretty straight-forward surgery; there’s nothing crazy and technical about it,” Collins said. “So they are going to go in there and try to get the bone spurs and fix the fracture.”
Collins says the injury occured due to a prior ankle roll sustained at Tim Grgurich’s skills camp. Despite the setback, he is committed to returning to the Blazers in form.
“You know, I feel bad. I feel like I let people down, even though it’s out of my control. I’m feeling all those emotions, and I’m sure I’m going to be hit with some more when all this starts and I leave the team. It’s going to suck. But I’m focused on getting back and being better.”
You can read Quick’s entire piece here.