Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea will be sidelined at least six weeks after suffering a muscle tear in his left leg, he tells El Nuevo Día (as translated by ESPN):
“Thank God there is no damage to the Achilles tendon and no surgery is required. I have a tear in the muscle between my calf and the tendon. I will have to use a walking boot for two weeks and won’t partake in any physical activity for the next month. I estimate that I will be out for about a month and a half. It could have been worse,” Barea said.
“The timing of the injury is horrible because I was playing the best basketball of my career, taking advantage of every minute. It’s a matter of resting and trying to return as quickly as possible,” said Barea.
Barea was injured on a non-contact play against the Celtics on Wednesday, and immediately collapsed to the floor in obvious pain. He was unable to walk independently and had to be helped to the locker room. His injury was classified as a left calf strain following the contest, enabling Mavericks fans to breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn’t an achilles injury.
Through nine games with the Mavericks this year, Barea has averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 steals in 33.1 minutes per contest. J.J. Barea is in his 11th NBA season, and his third in a row with Dallas. He went unselected back in the 2006 draft.
