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CJ McCollum has suffered a foot injury that forced him to leave the Portland Trail Blazers’ game with the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Initially the Blazers declared the injury a left foot sprain—still the official word—but reports indicate that McCollum will receive an MRI to determine the extent of the injury.
Update:
MRI results have revealed that the injury is a sprain, not anything worse. We do not yet have a prognosis for McCollum’s return to action.
Coach Stotts says McCollum had x-rays and an MRI on his left foot and it's "nothing more than a sprain"
— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) January 17, 2021
Casey Holdahl of the Blazers shared the news first.
CJ McCollum has a left foot sprain and will not return
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) January 17, 2021
Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports augments with the MRI angle.
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum will undergo an MRI on his left foot in which the team is currently calling a sprain, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 17, 2021
McCollum has broken his left foot twice -- once in college, once his rookie season -- so one would imagine they're going to take very precaution. https://t.co/F4Z3QADeMx
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) January 17, 2021
Here is video of the play on which the injury happened. McCollum played 19 minutes in the first half of the game. Hawks center Clint Capela appeared to step on McCollum’s foot midway through the first period, causing him to come up limping.
Here’s the play CJ McCollum had his foot stepped on by Clint Capela...
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) January 17, 2021
The Blazer have officially announced he has a left foot sprain and will not return. pic.twitter.com/Aoflx48YcY
McCollum leads the Blazers with a 27.6 per game scoring average over 12 games this season. Portland lost starting center Jusuf Nurkic for at least eight weeks in their last game versus the Indiana Pacers. Nurkic fractured a wrist.