Hornets rookie forward Tidjane Salaun exited Thursday’s matchup against New York with a left ankle sprain in the first quarter, according to Hornets PR (Twitter link). He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Salaun, the No. 6 overall pick in 2024, has established himself as part of the rotation. He’s averaging 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.7 minutes this season while appearing in 19 games and making seven starts.
With Miles Bridges injured and Grant Williams out for the season, Salaun’s role has increased as of late. He’s started each of the past six games for the Hornets. Excluding Thursday’s game, Salaun averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds during his starts, including 31 combined points in games against Miami and New York on Nov. 27 and 29.
The Hornets turned to several deep rotation pieces in their game against New York with several players dealing with injuries. All of LaMelo Ball, Three ManWilliams and Bridges are hurt. Center Mark Williams recently returned from injury but isn’t playing his full workload yet. That leaves two-way guard KJ Simpson and deep reserves Seth Curry, DaQuan Jeffries and Nick Smith Jr. as options off the bench alongside Williams and Cody Martin.
Ankle sprain vary in recovery time, so we’ll have to wait and see what Salaun’s official timetable is. However, Suns star Kevin Durant suffered an ankle sprain on Tuesday and is out at least one week, so it’s safe to assume Salaun misses at least a few games. Lakers center Jaxson Hayes also suffered an ankle injury recently and is out two-to-three weeks. The Hornets play a back-to-back on Dec. 8-9 against Indiana and Chicago before not playing again until Dec. 13.
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