After going down with what appeared to be a nasty knee injury in the third quarter of Wednesday night's loss to the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic got good news on Thursday. Following an MRI and further evaluations on the knee, the team announced the fifth-year center had a bone bruise in his right knee. His return to action will be dependent on how he reacts to treatment.
Despite the good news, the Magic will be without their starting center on Friday night against the Toronto Raptors.
After catching a pass from Victor Oladipo, Vucevic planted his right leg to make a move on Rockets center Dwight Howard, but quickly came up limping after his knee buckled. Vucevic hobbled to the sideline, where he fell on the ground in clear pain. He was able to walk off under his own power, but did not return in the overtime loss.
Avoiding something more serious is huge, not only for Vucevic, but for the Magic. Many times when players suffer non-contact knee injuries, they end up missing significant time, and with the original diagnosis of a sprained right knee, the worst was possible for the seven-footer.
The Magic have their second back-to-back of the season this weekend against the aforementioned Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers, but will have Sunday off before traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers.
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