Charlotte Hornets

Hornets add another name to injury list, won’t be at full strength for preseason opener

Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin returned to action for the team on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 during action against the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC.
Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin returned to action for the team on Wednesday, January 4, 2023 during action against the Memphis Grizzlies at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Add another name to the Charlotte Hornets’ injury list.

Cody Martin suffered a sprained right wrist and a thumb laceration blocking a shot at the rim during the Hornets’ final training camp practice at Duke University’s Michael W. Krzyzewski Center on Friday, the team announced. He’s listed as day-to-day.

That means Martin will miss the Hornets’ preseason opener against New York at Spectrum Center on Sunday. Martin joins Mark Williams on the sideline, leaving Charlotte without two of its key rotation pieces.

Williams strained a tendon in his left foot during an offseason workout last Thursday. it’s expected to sideline him for at least two weeks. He didn’t do anything during the Hornets’ four-day camp, getting around on a scooter while his foot was in a walking boot for extra precaution.

Martin has been bitten frequently by the injury bug over the past two seasons, logging only a combined 35 games because of various ailments. He played in only seven games in 2022-23 because of lingering soreness in his left knee following arthroscopic surgery in 2022.

As a noted defensive specialist and one of the team’s best players on that side of the ball, Martin has a chance to flourish under new coach Charles Lee. But he’ll have to stay healthy, which has been an issue for the latter part of his tenure with the team.

Roderick Boone
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly. Support my work with a digital subscription
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