The preseason has not been very kind to the Philadelphia 76ers, as the injury bug made its way through the team. Having already experiencing injury concerns to guards Nik Stauskas and Kendall Marshall, as well as Tony Wroten still recovering from knee surgery, Philadelphia was ill-equipped to suffer another injury. This is particularly true for an injury to any play with the slightest resemblance of an offensive game.
It turns out they could not quite escape the end of the preseason without another one. In the final quarter of the preseason Friday night against Boston, F Robert Covington suffered a knee injury that appeared to be troubling. The injury prevented the third-year sharp shooter from walking full-power on his own. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey provided Covington’s explanation of what happened in a blog post this past weekend:
“I got hit in it,” he said of his knee. “I was like driving and the defender tried to cover and hit into my knee. And I hit it on the floor as well.”
The 6-foot-9, 215-pounder was carried to the locker room by teammates and needed crutches to get around after the game.
As the weekend progressed, however, Covington reportedly was feeling better and was able to apply pressure to the knee. An MRI Saturday revealed that it was sprained right MCL, which Pompey says will keep him out for about two weeks, citing a source. If that’s the case, Pompey estimates he could be out for two to six games.
Last season, the 24-year old averaged over 13 points per game and nearly 6 rebounds per contest. He was expected to be in the team’s starting lineup, more than likely at small forward. His absence will open up more minutes for Jerami Grant and Jakar Sampson, among others.
Philadelphia tips off the season this Wednesday in Boston.
