The New Orleans Pelicans have been dealt a significant blow with news coming out that Josh Hart is expected to miss significant time with his hand injury.
According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN, Hart has been diagnosed with a torn UCL on his right thumb:
Sources say Pelicans guard Josh Hart expected to miss significant time with a torn UCL in his right thumb.
He played through the injury last night against Orlando but MRI results today showed the tear.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) April 2, 2021
Josh Hart looked perfectly fine on Thursday, matching a career-high 17 rebounds in a whopping 47 minutes of action as the Pelicans suffered a 115-110 overtime loss to the Orlando Magic. it is unclear if Hart further aggravated the injury by playing through it on Thursday.
The Pelicans have been absolutely decimated with injuries of late, with Hart now joining Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Steven Adams on the shelf. New Orleans will be extremely shorthanded on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks with virtually their entire starting five out of action. Aside from Ball (and now Hart), however, the injuries of the aforementioned players are minor, which means that Zion, Ingram, and Adams should be able to return to action sooner rather than later.
The Pelicans could sure use them back as soon as possible.
It is worth noting that Hart is currently on a contract year, and he is expected to be a free agent in the offseason. He is currently averaging a career-best 8.0 rebounds per game, emerging as one of the top rebounding guards in the NBA today. If the Pelicans opt not to sign the 26-year-old to a new deal, then he will likely have a number of suitors in free agency.
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