Joe Ingles had tears in his eyes before a scan confirmed the worst news for the Australian NBA veteran who could be sidelined for up to a year after suffering an ACL injury on Monday.’
The 34-year-old’s career is on a knife-edge too with his one-year, $18m deal with the Utah Jazz expiring at the end of the season.
Ingles will have surgery within weeks and his teammate Mike Conley revealed the veteran guard, the all-time leading three-point shooter at the Jazz, was inconsolable after hurting his knee.
“Tears in his eyes,” Conley said of seeing Ingles. ”Just knowing how much this means for him, this game means to them and what we mean to him, you know, so it‘s tough.
“That took a lot out of guys seeing him with tears in his eyes.”
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An MRxjmtzywI revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Ingles’ left knee with no other structural damage, the Jazz confirmed.
“Ingles will remain out indefinitely with surgery taking place in the next several weeks,” a club statement said.
Ingles is in his eighth season with Utah and his teammates were rocked by the injury. It happened when Ingles’ left knee buckled as he drove through the paint in the second quarter against Minnesota.
“We were thinking about him all second half, trying to get information,” teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic said.
“It was pretty bad to see him in pain.”
Ingles has escaped serious injury throughout his NBA career, notably stringing together 418 consecutive games between 2015 and 2021.
At 34 years of age, though, Ingles could find his career in free fall having to spend 12 months on the sidelines.
Basketball pundits expressed their sympathies on social media.
