Amid furious trade rumors, Giannis Antetokounmpo will be sidelined for up to a month.
After the Greek superstar suffered a calf strain on Wednesday night against the Pistons, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday Antetokounmpo is expected to miss two to four weeks with the injury. The news comes one day after Charania reported the star forward would be meeting with Milwuakee’s front office to discuss his future with the franchise.
Antetokounmpo is playing at an MVP level once more this season. He’s averaging 28.9 points and 10.1 rebounds to go with 6.1 assists per contest. The Bucks are 10-13 on the season, however, because the roster struggles mightily to win without Antetokounmpo in the lineup. To this point the star has missed six games already due to injury; Milwaukee is 1-5 in those games.
Antetokounmpo’s latest injury puts a ton of pressure on the Bucks to tread water while he’s gone. An absence of this length could be disastrous if Milwaukee can’t pull out some wins. Hanging above it all are the trade rumors. With Giannis shelved for at least the next two weeks it’s unlikely any decision will be made about his future.
The Bucks entered Thursday ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference. Antetokounmpo is set to miss at least five games and up to 13 if he takes the maximum amount of time to recover. With the trade deadline in February these next few weeks are pivotal for the franchise.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury Update: Bucks Star Set to Miss Several Weeks.
