The remainder of Andrew Bogut's 2011-12 season is in question after the Milwaukee Bucks center suffered a fractured left ankle in a game against the Houston Rockets.
The former No.1 overall draft pick is expected to miss anywhere from 8-to-12 weeks with a fractured left ankle after landing awkwardly on the foot of Rockets' point guard Kyle Lowry during Wednesday night's contest.
The full extent of Bogut's injury was not learned until Thursday afternoon, after the 7-foot center had returned to Milwaukee and was evaluated by team orthopedic physician Michael Gordon. A magnetic resonance imaging exam was performed, revealing the fracture.
It is the latest injury in a long string of injuries for the Australian-born big man, who had averaged 11.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg and 2.0 bpg in 12 contests for the Bucks this season.
Bogut missed 43 games during the 2008-09 season with a lower back injury. The following year he missed the tail end of the 2009-10 season after dislocating his elbow and breaking his right hand in a severe fall. The latter event was so severe that the center struggled with complications from the injury following his return in 2010-11, noting that he was far from 100 percent.
He had hoped to rebound in 2011-12, but had already missed a number of games after suffering a concussion earlier in the season. Bogut also missed four games due to a family medical issue that required him to travel to Australia.
Following a stellar two-year career with the Utah Utes, including a sophomore campaign in which he received the Oscar Robertson Trophy, John R. Wooden Award and was named the Naismith College Player of the Year, Milwaukee made Bogut the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
He appeared to be on the path in stardom, seeing his numbers gradually increase during his first five seasons in the league, and was enjoying his best season in 2009-10, with averages of 15.9 ppg and 10.2 rpg, before suffering the catastrophic elbow and hand injury. In 396 career NBA games, Bogut holds averages of 12.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.3 apg and 1.6 bpg.
In the wake of Bogut's most recent injury, the Bucks are expected to pursue a center through various avenues such as a trade or signing a free-agent player, and the team may also apply to the league for an roster exception.
Image credit: Wikipedia Commons
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