Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic will miss 7-10 days after an MRI revealed bursitis in his right ankle, reports Phil Ervin of FOX Sports North. The team plans to re-evaluated him after that timetable passes, leaving some additional uncertainty over when he'll return.
On Monday, Pekovic was only able to play six minutes against the Chicago Bulls. He recorded just one point and one rebound, leaving with what appeared to be an Achilles injury. Luckily, this doesn't appear to be nearly as serious as it could've been.
For the team, which has won four of five games to regain some ground in the West, losing Pekovic will still be tough to swallow. He had appeared in Minnesota's first 44 games in 2013-14, showing some durability after missing 17 or more games in each of his first three seasons.
More importantly, he's been absolutely on fire this season. Since the beginning of December, he's averaging 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds over 25 games while shooting 53 percent from the field, excluding those six minutes in Chicago. Overall, he's averaging 18 points and 9.1 rebounds this year. Ronny Turiaf will likely take over as Minnesota's starting center for the time being.
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