Rajon Rondo injured his ankle early in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's win over the New York Knicks when he severely rolled on his left foot while driving down the center of the lane (you can watch video of the play here).
He hobbled around until play stopped, was subbed out, but then quickly returned to the game about three minutes later. Rondo finished with 10 points and 14 assists in 34 minutes played, along with six turnovers. Now we've learned that he has a sprained left ankle.
Rondo, who reportedly left Madison Square Garden on crutches, according to CSNNE.com's Greg Dickerson, is set to undergo X-rays Thursday morning, and is expecting to play against the Hawks tonight. He's already had to deal with plantar fasciitis in both his feet, a sore left hamstring and pain in his left knee this season. While Rondo is hopeful he won't miss any time, his teammates are not so sure (via CNSNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely):
"He's been banged up over the last month," said Paul Pierce, who hit the game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds to play. "Probably a slim chance we'll have him tomorrow. We played a few games without him. It happens, but hey, what's new for us? We're used to guys going down. We keep finding ways."
"It hurts,'' said Rondo. "But all ankle sprains hurt. Hopefully it doesn't swell up."