The Atlanta Hawks were able to get in the win column, defeating the Brooklyn Nets 117-112, but they await news of their star player. Earlier in the game, Trae Young was injured after Mouhamed Gueye ran into the side of his leg, which made it bend inward. Young stayed on the floor, but then walked off on his own power. In the Hawks' next offensive possession, Young tried to run down the court, and he pulled himself out of the game, heading straight to the locker room.
Young is set for an MRI, but there have already been some injury experts who have predicted what kind of injury he suffered, one that included Jeff Stotts.
“Just watched the Trae Young injury. As Mo Gueye falls into Young, the impact places a valgus stress through Young’s knee. This mechanism of injury places strain on the inside aspect of the knee, particularly the medial collateral ligament (MCL). Interested to see what the MRI shows,” Stotts wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
If the injury is an MCL and it's just a sprain, Young could be out for some weeks, which is probably a good case scenario after looking at how his knee bent. Anything else could probably put him on the shelf for a longer period of time.
Trae Young's injury not ACL-related
After the game, head coach Quin Snyder gave an update on Young's injury, and he noted first that it had nothing to do with his ACL.
“Not sure how long (he’ll be out) or what respect, but something that he’s going to hopefully be back from whenever possible,” Snyder said. “He didn’t want to come out of the game. He’s such a competitor. He takes so much pride in being available.”
The Hawks have already dealt with some injuries to their key players to start the season. Kristaps Porzingis, Jalen Johnson, and Zaccharie Risacher have missed games already, but were able to return after a game or two. If Young has to miss extended time, they'll have to rely on those players, plus others.
With Young out for most of the last game, Luke Kennard had his best game as a Hawk, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been aggressive in every game this season.
For now, the Hawks will wait and see what the diagnosis is for their star player, and they're hoping for some good news.
