Shocker! The back injury that will sideline Bradley Beal at least the next three weeks was serious enough for the Phoenix Suns to consider shutting him down for an extended period before the three-time All-Star made his 2023-24 debut in early November.

Suns coach Frank Vogel touched on Beal's status before his team's in-season tournament game against the Utah Jazz on Friday.

“Yes,” he told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic when asked if the current plan to address his back issues was discussed with Beal earlier this season. “We thought we were there, but weren't quite there yet. Obviously we all were, but he was very eager to get on the floor, especially to play his first game for the Suns. But we weren't quite there yet, so we want to try to put it behind us.”

The Suns announced earlier on Friday that Beal—previously listed as doubtful to play versus the Jazz—would be shelved for the next three weeks while rehabbing a back strain before being re-evaluated by team medical personnel. His Phoenix debut was delayed until a couple weeks into the regular season by the same nagging back injury. After playing his first game for the Suns on November 8th and appearing in the team's next two matchups, Beal missed his team's battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

Vogel expressed optimism that the 30-year-old will eventually get a clean bill of health, a development that would've been in doubt had Beal continued trying to play through pain and discomfort.

“It's the right plan. We wanna put this thing fully behind him and playing in the games was slowing down his progress for really trying to put this thing behind him,” Vogel said. “We don't wanna do the play a game, be out a game, play a game, be out a game. We wanna get this thing fully behind us.”

Bradley Beal averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 28.5 minutes per game across his three appearances for Phoenix, shooting 39.1% from the field. The Suns' Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Beal have still yet to share the floor in 2023-24.