Portland Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins has suffered another injury and now will have to undergo surgery in his left ankle for a hairline medial malleolus stress fracture, according to the team. A date for the procedure hasn’t been established yet.
Zach Collins to miss remainder of 2020 Playoffs.
Get well soon, Z ??
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) August 21, 2020
At the start of the season, he underwent surgery on his shoulder after playing only three games. He returned recently to help the Blazers in their quest for the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Collins played in all of the team’s seeding games and in the play-in tournament against the Memphis Grizzlies. For those games, he averaged 6.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in 25.4 minutes per game.
This leaves the Blazers with fewer options in the frontcourt as they lost Rodney Hood with an Achilles injury in the middle of the season and Trevor Ariza, who opted out before the season was resumed in Orlando.
Rookie Wenyen Gabriel replaced him in the starting lineups for the playoffs and, with Hassan Whiteside, saw his minutes increased due to Collins’ absence.
The Blazers are currently tied at one game apiece with the Los Angeles Lakers.
