Kyrie Irving to miss time with bruised heel but avoids serious injury
It looked bad when it happened, Kyrie Irving was on the ground after a lay-up attempt when Dwight Powell fell on his leg.
Rough Injury for Kyrie Irving, hopefully it isn’t too serious pic.twitter.com/vvlYmp4I5Z
— ₅ (@RunWithFox) December 9, 2023
Fortunately for Irving, an MRI revealed this only to be only a bruised right heel. He is going to miss time (how much is unclear), the Mavericks announced.
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that an MRI revealed a right heel contusion for Kyrie Irving. Irving sustained the injury in the Mavericks’ game at Portland on Friday.
Irving has returned to Dallas to begin treatment, and there is no timetable for his return at this time.— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) December 9, 2023
There's no timeline for a return and it's tough to judge that because we don't know the details of the injury. As Jeff Stotts at In Street Clothes notes, it takes a lot longer to heal from a bone bruise compared to a soft tissue injury. Add onto the fact Irving has been dealing with right foot soreness all season already and he might get a little more time off to get right.
Re: Kyrie Irving: The term heel contusion is a bit vague as it can be used to describe multiple injuries including a bone contusion or a soft tissue contusion. The average time lost for nondescript heel contusions is 5.5 days (~2 games).
Interested to see the final diagnosis…— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) December 9, 2023
Irving has averaged 23 points, 5.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season, and the 13-8 Mavericks are outscoring teams by 3.8 points per 100 possessions when Irving and Luka Doncic are both on the court.
