MRI reveals that Alperen Sengun avoided ‘major injury’ after leaving court in wheelchair

Despite the Rockets having one of their most important wins of the campaign this past Sunday, as they overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the Kings on the road, they lost star Alperen Sengun to injury. The Turkish star suffered a scary fall late in the fourth quarter and hurt his ankle. 

The play occurred with less than a minute before the final buzzer, as Houston was leading by 8 points. It started with rival center Domantas Sabonis stealing the ball and racing down the floor for a layup, while the 21-year-old chased him down, fouled him in the process, and then landed awkwardly.

Alperen remained on the ground for quite a while, until he ultimately had to be removed in a wheelchair. Everyone present expected the worse, as the pain he transmitted made us believe he was out for the rest of the season.

ESPN Sources: Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun has escaped major injury on his lower right leg, suffering a severely sprained ankle and a bone bruise on his knee. Sengun’s been one of breakout stars in the league this year, averaging 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists. pic.twitter.com/fGlKYyufo7

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 11, 2024

Fortunately for the Rockets camp, the MRI revealed Monday that the big man avoided “major injury,” but he is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee and a severely sprained ankle. There is no timetable for his return yet, but it is still in doubt that he would be cleared to play before regular season ends on April 14.

“It doesn’t diminish the win in general,” his coach Ime Udoka said postgame. “I think it was one of our best road wins. He had a huge part in that.”

The young center dropped 14 points before he sprained his ankle and has been averaging a career-high 21.2 points during his third professional campaign in Texas.

“Injuries are part of the game,” said teammate Fred VanVleet. “We all understand that when we signed up, but it’s always tough to see your teammates go down, especially the young ones who haven’t really been through it before.”

Houston aims for their fourth-consecutive road win as they face San Antonio this Tuesday

The Texan franchise are getting ready to face state rivals in San Antonio this Tuesday after potentially losing Sengun for the rest of the competition. Despite the news, the Rockets are highly motivated coming into this match, especially considering they’ve won their last three road games.

The Spurs, on the other hand, recently lost to the Golden State Warriors and continue to sit alone in the Western Conference’s last spot with a 14-51 record. Their coach Gregg Popovich believes they deserved their recent defeat.

“You know, if you lose, you often do a few things poorly. If you win, you do more things well and you get a chance to win. If we had a 30-6 run we probably did a lot of bad things during that period. It’s a pretty simple game, there are no secrets,” he said during the postgame interview.

Both Texan teams will face off each other at 6:30pm CST time at the AT&T Center this Tuesday, while the Rockets hope to keep climbing the West’s standings, as they still hold a big chance of qualifying for the playoffs.