Hits keep coming: Charlotte Hornets have yet another injury to deal with
The trend continues.
It seems like whenever the Charlotte Hornets welcome a player back from injury, someone else gets added to the dreaded injury list. That’s been the case throughout the 2024-25, and it happened again in New York on Thursday.
Just two days after finally getting Mark Williams back into the fold, the Hornets watched their rookie first-round pick limp off the Madison Square Garden floor. Tidjane Salaün sprained his left ankle in the first quarter and missed the remainder of the Hornets’ 125-101 loss the Knicks.
Salaün got banged up on a fast break after New York’s Josh Hart attempted to cut him off during a drive. Salaün stayed in the game to shoot free throws prior to exiting, but couldn’r return, delivering another blow to a frontcourt that’s juggled injuries throughout the past two months.
His sidelining compounds things for a team already missing LaMelo Ball (sore calf), Miles Bridges (right knee bone bruise), Tre Mann (low back) and Grant Williams (ACL).
Injuries forced Salaün into the rotation much sooner than initially anticipated, and it’s accelerating his development. He’s appeared in 20 of the Hornets’ 21 games, getting hurled into the starting rotation eight times.
He was coming off his best all-around outing of the season, registering 10 points and a career-best 10 rebounds against Philadelphia for his first double-double.
But now Salaün’s availability is in question, keeping in tune with a theme the Hornets have dealt with all season.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 9:14 PM.
