Report: Rajon Rondo Being Further Evaluated After Facial Injury
Rajon Rondo took an inadvertent knee to the face from teammate Richard Jefferson on Saturday. As reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein, Rondo is already ruled out for Monday night and will be further examined through the week:
Sources say that Rondo, who suffered the injury in the first quarter of Saturday night’s win in Orlando, was scheduled to be evaluated extensively Sunday by the Mavericks’ MEDICAL
staff to establish a firm timetable on how long he’ll be sidelined.
But Rondo has already been ruled out of the Mavericks’ home game Monday night against the Timberwolves, who will be welcoming Ricky Rubio back to the lineup after his 42-game absence thanks to an ankle injury.
“It was a really bad collision,” Mavericks center Tyson Chandler said of the shot Rondo took to the head just 98 seconds into Saturday’s game. “I don’t know what the prognosis is, but he is pretty beat up.”
The Mavericks acquired Rondo in a trade with the Boston Celtics, and it hasn’t been a cake walk since his arrival. Dallas is still formidable, but in the rangy Western Conference they’re currently at sixth place with the Spurs on their heels. The Mavericks’ guard depth took a hit in trading for Rondo, but Devin Harris and J.J. Barea will be called to fill in. Playoff positioning is in effect through the rest of the regular season, so any minor setbacks could prove costly.
